The British Parliament first passed a comprehensive food and
drug act in 1875. The basic food law was known as the Sale of Foods and Drug
Act. Many of the other European countries then followed suit and had their own
food laws before the end of the century.
The first laws that penalized food
and drug adulteration is the The Adulteration of Food and Drugs Act 1860, which
was later revised in 1872, and the Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875. Adulteration
was a thing before, but it caused illnesses to many workers that the industry
people have to pressure the government to pass anti-adulteration laws to reduce
absenteeism of their workers. The laws outlawed a lot of adulteration practices
and also made provisions for appointments of public analysts to inspect food
and drugs.
