That
the introduction into any State or Territory or the District of Columbia ... of
any article of food or drugs which is adulterated or misbranded, within the
meaning of this Act, is hereby prohibited?.
That
the examinations of specimens of foods and drugs shall be made in the Bureau of
Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture, or under the direction and
supervision of such Bureau, for the purpose of determining from such
examinations whether such articles are adulterated or misbranded within the
meaning of this Act....
<span>
</span>
I<span>t
would not stretch matters to say that the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 (P.L.
59-384, 34 Stat. 768), also known as the Wiley Act, stands as the most
consequential regulatory statute in the history of the United States.
The act not only gave unprecedented new regulatory powers to the federal
government, it also empowered a bureau that evolved into today's Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
The legacy of the 1906 act includes federal regulatory authority over
one-quarter of gross domestic product, and includes market gatekeeping power
over human and animal drugs, foods and preservatives, medical devices,
biologics and vaccines. Other statutes (such as the Interstate Commerce Act of
1887, the Sherman and Clayton antitrust laws, and the Federal Trade Commission
Act of 1914) have received more study, but the Pure Food and Drug Act has had
the longest-lasting and most widespread economic, political, and institutional
impact.</span>
