- An article published by the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition states that scientists began seeing the importance of food labels as early as the 1820s. German chemist Frederick Accum saw the need to warm people about the dangers of food contamination in London. In 1820, Accum published "Treatise on Adulteration of Food and Methods of Detecting Them." According to the Royal Society of Chemistry Advancing the Chemical Sciences, the book sold out in a month. That same year, the United States received a copy of this groundbreaking publication. When the book came to the United States, the infancy of FDA food labels began.
- Before the creation of FDA food labels, the United States allowed states to establish laws concerning food. These colonial laws only covered trading food, created a weights and measurement standards, and set up inspection procedures for exports like salt meat, fish and flour. In 1820, however, trade and professional leaders founded U.S. Pharmacopeia. The U.S. Pharmacopeia website says that 11 delegates attended the first meeting. This organization set quality control standards for drugs. However, this organization did not connect to the Food and Drug Administration.
- During the Civil War, the United States saw the need to establish laws concerning interstate food commerce. The Center for Food Safety says that, in 1862, scientists reported about problems concerning food preservation and chemical preserves. In 1873, scientists documented their analysis of cereals, wines, and opium. A year later, they talked about contaminated milk. Despite the scientific research, FDA food labels would not appear until the 20th century.
- The year 1906 proved to be a pivotal year in FDA food labeling. That year, author Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" opened the public's eyes to the unclean and unsafe conditions at Chicago stockyards. Outraged by the contents of this novel, the public pushed for more government regulations concerning food safety. The research conducted following the Civil War lead to the creation of the Food and Drug Acts of 1906. This act restricted transportation of mislabeled and contaminated foods.
- Throughout the 20th century, changes to FDA food labels helped consumers make informed decisions about products purchased. The FDA website says that, in the years following the 1906 Food and Drug Act, the government continued refining regulations concerning food additive and content. In 1913, the Gould Amendment stated that packaged food display labels listing the contents of the package. Approximately 20 refinements were made concerning deceptive food labeling and additives in packaged foods. In the early 21st century, the FDA made it mandatory for packaged foods to indicate whether or not they contained trans fat.