PBS: 'The Poison Squad': Food Safety, HARVEY WILEY, Consumer Activist- Chemist & 'Father of the FDA'

New. Trailer. PBS, American Experience (2020) now showing on PBS channels. *Outstanding film on the work of American scientist Dr. Harvey Wiley who took on food purity and safety in an unregulated, corrupt era known as the 'Gilded Age.'



Chapter 1. Preview (9 mins). 'The Poison Squad' documentary tells the story of USDA government chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley who was determined to banish dangerous food additives, chemical preservatives and other harmful toxins from American dinner tables. In 1901, at a time when the food industry lacked any government food standards, consumer safety regulations and labelling, Dr. Harvey took on the powerful US food manufacturers and their allies. A chemist working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wiley had been trying for years to raise the alarm about the fakes, frauds, toxins and perils lurking on market shelves. Wiley faced enormous opposition from big business and their lobbyists and cronies in Congress and decided that the only way to prove the toxicity of these chemicals would be through a scientific study using human subjects.

In 1902, Wiley recruited 12 robust young men with brave hearts and strong stomachs and fed them meals tainted with increasing amounts of common chemical additives such as borax, salicylic acid, sodium benzoate and formaldehyde. In exchange for free food and five dollars a month, these volunteers, dubbed the “Poison Squad,” agreed to eat only the meals served by Wiley, submit to a battery of physical examinations after each meal; and promise not to sue the federal government if they were injured or sickened in the process. Soon newspaper reporters were covering the colorful and often stomach-churning exploits of Wiley's 'Poison Squad.'

- MORE, PBS Website, https://www.pbs.org/video/trailer-poison-squad-american-experience-d2l3gt/



- * Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley (1844-1930), 'Pioneer Consumer Activist,' FDA
https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-leadership-1907-today/harvey-w-wiley

More, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/janelevere/2020/01/28/documentary-debuting-on-pbs-tonight-traces-roots-of-fda-and-first-us-consumer-protection-laws/#1abfe2a22c56

* 'Documentary Debuting On PBS Tonight Traces Roots Of FDA & 1st US Consumer Protection Laws,' Jane Levere, Forbes.

By the late 19th century, the American food supply was rife with frauds, fakes and legions of untested and often deadly chemicals that threatened the health of consumer. “The Poison Squad,” a documentary based on the acclaimed book by Deborah Blum and debuting on PBS’ American Experience tonight, tells the story of a little-known government chemist named Dr. Harvey Wiley, who, determined to banish these dangerous substances from the American diet, took on the powerful food manufacturers and their allies in government.

To demonstrate the peril lurking in these ubiquitous chemicals — from copper sulfate to borax to formaldehyde — Wiley embarked upon a series of bold and controversial trials on human subjects — a dozen brave young men who would become known as the “Poison Squad.” Following Wiley’s unusual experiments and tireless crusade for food safety, the documentary charts the path of the forgotten man whose work would become the basis for our consumer protection laws, and ultimately the creation of the FDA.
At the close of the 19th century, technology and industry were booming. More and more Americans migrated to cities and away from farm life and fresh, homegrown food. Completely unregulated, the burgeoning food manufacturing industry took off as millions of Americans needed access to readily available and affordable food.

In this pre-refrigeration world, meatpacking and canning companies sought ways to keep their products fresh at the lowest possible cost, regularly processing products with untested chemical preservatives. Milk was diluted with water and then sometimes whitened with plaster of paris or chalk to get rid of its bluish tint; formaldehyde was often added to sweeten the taste of souring milk, while pureed calf brains could be used to mimic the cream on top. In big cities, tainted milk was a breeding ground for deadly bacteria; outbreaks of scarlet fever, tuberculosis and cholera were common.

Since no ingredient labeling was required, other dairy products like oleomargarine made from scraps from meatpackers were sold as butter, and corn syrup was marketed as honey and maple syrup. And when the rations shipped to U.S. soldiers fighting the Spanish American war in Cuba were so rancid and reeking of toxic chemicals that troops refused to eat them, New York governor Theodore Roosevelt, who had fought alongside them, said he would rather have eaten his hat...