U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Rockville, MD United States

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversees the regulation of food (except meat and poultry), human and animal drugs, biological products (blood, vaccines, and transplant tissues), radiation-emitting consumer and professional medical equipment, cosmetics, and animal feed. Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA was founded in 1862 as the Division of Chemistry (with only one staff member). The 1906 Food and Drugs Act added administrative duties to the division; its name was changed in 1927 (to the Food, Drug, and Insecticide Administration) and shortened in 1930. Its jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US possessions. Its operating budget is around $2 billion. To read the full description, subscribe now.