Frozen Food and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938






In ancient times, people in cold climates used the weather to freeze and preserve food. In the early 1860's, processes using metal pans and salt were used to freeze fish for commercial use. However, Clarence Birdseye is credited with founding the frozen foods industry ("Frozen Foods", Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993 Edition). During time spent near the Arctic, he noticed how quickly fish froze when exposed to the elements. He also learned that when the fish thawed it was as fresh as the day it was caught (Birdseye History Online, www.birdseye.com). Consequently, Birdseye developed a method for quick freezing food in the early 1920's which prevented large crystals from forming and destroying the fish ("Clarence Birdseye", Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993 Edition). He realized that this process was also an excellent way to freeze fruits and vegetables. Thus, blanched vegetables are first frozen commercially and sold by the Birdseye Organization in Hillsboro, Oregon in 1929 (American Frozen Foods Institute, www.affi.com). A year later, Clarence's Organization is bought by a Massachusetts Company. Not long after, "...june peas and spinach are the first frozen vegetables brought to the market" distributed in ten retail stores in Springfield, MA (American Frozen Foods Institute, www.affi.com). "One of the marvels of this age" according to the Better Homes and Gardens Quote of the Month for September, 1930 "is the new quick freeze process whereby time ceases to exist for foods".

As one can see, the concept was heralded by the media as being an important technological advancement. However, according to the American Frozen Food Institute, Birdseye sold his frozen items in selected stores in the Eastern United States. In other words, not everyone in America had access to the commercial line of Birdseye frozen goods. Only in the 1940's and 1950's did frozen foods begin to grow in to the business that it is today. For example, the American Frozen Foods Institute states that the first color magazine ad for frozen food was printed in the 1940's and that nearly 64% of retailers in 1950 carried frozen food. . In addition, new frozen food products became available including everything from Mexican cuisine to Swanson TV Dinners (American Frozen Foods Institute, www.affi.com). And, according to Birdseye History Online (www.birdseye.com), Clarence Birdseye rented the first insulated railroad car in 1944, giving birth to the refrigerated shipping industry. But, regardless of the small size of the frozen food market in the 1930's, the advent of the commercial sale of frozen food led to changes in the governments actions toward food and other commodities.

Manufacturers such as Birdseye wanted to ensure the consumer that the products they were buying were safe. "Their support was instrumental in getting Congress to revise the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1938" ("From the Crash to the Blitz", Cabell Phillips, page 156). This act helped police the marketplace benefiting consumers and large companies simultaneously, through revisions to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

To understand these revisions, one must first look at the Act of 1906. This act outlawed the transportation of adulterated foods and prohibited the misbranding of foods and drugs (United States Code, 1994 Edition, page 78). Simply put, the act forbade the transportation of contaminated goods or inaccurately labeled items sold in interstate commerce (Encyclopedia of American History, 7th Edition, page302). Because this act applied to interstate commerce, many times food was shipped without labels until it entered the jurisdiction of the awaiting state ("Food and Drug Laws", Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993). This loophole, paired with the disregard for the expanding market place and growing advertising business, made the act not as effective for it did not cover enough ground. A new comprehensive law was scribed in 1938 that expanded the effect of the previous act. "This legislation expanded the affected commodity list, increased penalties, broadened the concepts of adulteration and misbranding, and paid special attention to particularly harmful commodities" ("Food and Drug Law", Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993). It also required manufacturers to "list on their products labels the ingredients used in the processing" (Encyclopedia of American History, page 400). This listing of ingredients is important particularly to frozen items, often preserved in a solution or treated with food additives. In addition, the act of 1938 required manufacturers to test food additives for safety before putting them on the market. This addition to the law further protects consumers from harmful products.

Also worth mentioning is the Wheeler-Lea Amendment of 1938 which broadened the Federal Trade Commission's control over the advertising of food, drugs and cosmetics (Encyclopedia of American History, 7th Edition, page 400). According to the Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993 Edition, attempts made previously to the passing of the act to encompass advertising into the Food and Drug laws were unsuccessful. "Continued interest...resulted in the passage of the Wheeler-Lea Amendment" which "contained specific provisions against false advertising for foods, drugs, cosmetics and therapeutic devices" ("Food and Drug Laws", Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993 Edition).

Food and Drug Laws certainly existed before the appearance of Birdseye Frozen Foods did in our grocery stores. However, thanks to Clarence and other manufacturers more stringent regulation was passed to protect customers in 1938 ("From the Crash to the Blitz", Cabell Phillips, page 156). The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 prohibits the distribution of impure foods, drugs or cosmetics in the United States. This law also forbids the mislabeling of items. This new law, combined with the Wheeler-Lea Amendment prohibiting false advertising, created a safer environment for the consumer in the late 1930's. In fact, "...since 1938 numerous other amendments have been added to the Pure Food and Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but it remains the basic federal legislation" ("Food and Drug Laws", Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, 1993 Edition). In other words, the amendments created in the time of Clarence Birdseye are still protecting the consumers today.
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