February 1906
The Jungle and the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle exposed filthy conditions in Chicago meatpacking plants. Public outrage pushed Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act that year.
Then
The federal government began inspecting meat and regulating food and drugs for the first time.
Now
Government food safety inspection became standard practice, a framework city health departments later applied to restaurants.
Why this matters now
Today's pre-permit restaurant inspection descends from this breakthrough in government food oversight: the idea that public health requires inspecting private food businesses before they serve customers.