FDA: A History

The Food and Drug Administration regulates 25 cents out of every dollar spent on consumer goods in the United States, being responsible not only for food and drug safety, but a host of other products as well, including cosmetics, prosthetics, and any electronic device that emits radiation. Made in cooperation with the FDA History Office, this documentary chronicles the history of this influential agency from its inception during the wild and woolly days of patent medicines in the late 19th century up to the more recent scandals involving the drug Vioxx and E. coli-tainted spinach. FDA: A History takes a chronological approach, incorporating archival footage, photos, and clips from educational videos, together with interviews of authors, scholars, and former FDA officials. Viewers learn about the origins of many developments we now take for granted, while also witnessing how science, politics, and public opinion shape the work of the FDA. For example, muck-raking exposés led to the Food and Drug Act of 1906 (the law requiring companies to list the ingredients in their products), while later during the 1950s, the FDA introduced procedures for testing drugs that would set the standard for the pharmaceutical industry. As significant—and essential for public health—as the work of the FDA has been, however, this documentary unfortunately has the hallmarks of an archaic institutional production: tinny voiceover narration, cheesy graphics to outline bureaucratic realignments, and an unimaginatively linear approach to the subject. Still, the quality of the expert testimony makes up for these flaws. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Wadland)