Eleven decades of US American Federal Food Law

Due to the increased interstate commerce and international trade in the United States of the early 1900s, the need for regulation by a federal agency became apparent. What was to become the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – responsible for this task – was founded in 1906. Various crises over the years led to enhanced administrative powers, which in turn were often challenged and clarified in court. This article gives an overview of the timeline of food risk management as performed by the FDA between 1906 and 2015, with a focus on the major legislation impacting its powers and the developments that led to them.