Just last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a notice that New York’s Prince Bakery voluntarily recalled five of its products distributed in bodegas and small retail markets around the Bronx and Westchester, New York, because the company did not declare that its products contained milk and sesame. In fact, just this month alone, the Administration has issued 31 recalls for food and drugs for a variety of reasons.
One of the most recent recalls has been Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. The outbreak caused a severe public health crisis, resulting in 9,481 confirmed illnesses and 398 hospitalizations across 17 states. Tragically, health officials also confirmed two deaths in Michigan among individuals who also had serious underlying medical conditions. Major retailers pulled millions of packaged salads from shelves, while restaurant chains like Taco Bell completely stopped serving iceberg lettuce. While Americans are used to such recalls today, historically speaking, they are relatively new; the first nationwide recall occurred in 1973.
The late start of recalls did not mean there was not a movement for greater agricultural safety for some time. Reformers had been pushing for regulations on food since the turn of the century, but what finally made a difference was the 1906 book “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair.
This book changed everything by exposing the terrible conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking industry. Sinclair described unsafe working conditions, filthy factories, and the possibility of contaminated meat being sold to the public. His descriptions shocked Americans and created pressure on the government to investigate the meatpacking industry. An investigation ordered by President Theodore Roosevelt confirmed many of the problems Sinclair had described.
The public reaction to “The Jungle” helped lead to major new food safety regulations in 1906. Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act, which established federal inspection of meat and meat-processing facilities, and the Pure Food and Drug Act, which prohibited the sale across state lines of adulterated and falsely labeled foods and drugs. These laws helped lay the foundation for the modern food safety system and were administered by the Bureau of Chemistry.
Yet even new regulations could not prevent all food contamination, as shown by the 1920 canned-olive botulism outbreak. Starting in 1919, commercially canned ripe olives from California were linked to outbreaks of botulism. People became seriously ill, and 17 died after eating them.
The outbreak showed that food could look normal but still contain a deadly toxin. At the time, scientists and government officials were still learning how botulism was connected to improper food processing. The outbreak led to stronger safety measures for canned foods. California introduced new regulations for olives, including better sanitation and heat-processing requirements designed to destroy dangerous bacteria. Some also consider this the first food recall, but the process was nothing like what we see today. Officials investigated the contaminated olives and warned the public about the danger, while contaminated products were removed or prevented from being sold. Think of it more like a warning than a recall.
Over time, what came to be known as the FDA gained more authority through new laws. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 greatly expanded the agency’s power to inspect factories and regulate the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. By the 1970s, the FDA could conduct nationwide inspections, test products for dangerous bacteria and toxins, and work with companies to remove unsafe food from the market. This was seen in the 1973 canned-mushroom C. botulinum outbreak, which led to the first actual recall that more closely resembled those we know today.
By 1973, the food safety system had changed dramatically. Scientists had a much better understanding of contamination, and federal agencies had developed more sophisticated methods of inspecting and regulating food production. The FDA was now able to respond to contaminated products on a much larger scale. In 1973, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that several mushroom products were contaminated with botulinum toxin. A routine warehouse inspection found a swollen can containing type B botulinum toxin, prompting the manufacturer to voluntarily recall large quantities of mushrooms.
The scale of the 1973 response demonstrates one of the biggest differences between the two periods. Instead of relying mainly on local health officials to respond to individual outbreaks, federal authorities could investigate products nationwide. In September 1973, the FDA ordered a survey of domestic and imported canned mushroom stocks in warehouses. More than 4,000 warehouses were inspected in only 60 days, and additional recalls followed. By the end of the year, evidence of botulinum organisms or other signs of inadequate processing had been found at nine domestic producers and two foreign firms.
The difference between the 1920 olive crisis and the 1973 mushroom recalls shows the development of the modern food recall system. In 1920, officials were largely responding to deadly outbreaks after contaminated food had already reached consumers. The response produced new sanitation and processing rules, but inspection resources and scientific knowledge were limited. By 1973, regulators could use laboratory testing, routine inspections, warehouse investigations, national distribution information, and coordinated recalls to identify potentially dangerous products before widespread illness occurred. The 1973 mushroom recalls were also notable because, despite repeated findings of botulinum toxin, no deaths were reported from the recalled mushroom products in the United States.
While we have come a long way from 1920 and even 1973, the recent lettuce case continues to show that no system is perfect and that unusual food contamination can still cause illness and even death. Even with these protections, it is best to wash your hands and food, use a clean surface, and avoid cross-contamination. Cook meat to the proper temperature and store perishables in cold enough areas. Your digestive system will thank you.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at james.finck@swoknews.com. Thanks to the Southwest Ledger and the Lawton Constitution for sharing his column.
