Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, creating the first federal food-safety regulation. The laws banned misbranded and adulterated food and drugs and required federal inspection of meat plants.
Producers had to meet new federal standards before selling across state lines.
Established the principle that food businesses need government permits and inspections—the same principle a city food license applies today.
The 1906 act shows that a food-safety license is a government permission, not a guarantee of success. A single city license today is one step in the same regulatory logic: approval precedes operation.
