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The timeline can be navigated with the “Scroll Left” and “Scroll Right” buttons or by dragging the pointer to a date on the timeline waveform (located at the bottom of the screen on the desktop version and on the left of the screen on mobile). To filter by a particular topic and see a smaller section of the data, make a selection on the dropdown “Filters” menu or click “Search” to do a keyword search. Hover over the abbreviated filter tags in the blue boxes to see the complete name of the filter, or click a filter to display all the data with this tag. If you want to take a deeper dive into a specific topic by viewing a narrative essay page and a curated timeline, click on “Stories.”

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The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is passed.

1938

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The act gives authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee the safety of food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics.

After public outcry from the Elixir tragedy, which resulted in the death of over 100 people, U.S. Congress was pressured to act to approve food, drugs, and cosmetics before going to market. Later additions will include the materials for "alternative medicine," such as acupuncture needles, homeopathic medications, and herbal remedies.