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The Three Crises That Birthed the FDA
By Nana Dadzie Ghansah
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under duress, and it does not take a rocket scientist to notice that. Its role in keeping Americans safe should never be underestimated. Any attempt to corrupt its role and position should be viewed with the utmost concern.
Maybe most people do not realize or have forgotten how and why the agency came to be, and thus a recollection might be in order.
The FDA regulates food safety, tobacco products, drugs, vaccines, and medical devices, among other things. As we know it today, the agency came to be due to mainly to 3 health crises in the 20th century — the Diphtheria Antitoxin crisis of 1901, the Elixir Sulfanilamide crisis of 1937 and the Thalidomide crisis of 1961.
The Diphtheria Antitoxin crisis of 1901
Before 1901, the only federal body that looked out for food and drug safety in the US was the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Bureau of Chemistry ran by Harvey Wiley. A crisis aided Wiley’s advocacy in 1901.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was no cure for diphtheria. There were…
