The federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other food and drug laws are codified in Title 21 of the United States Code.
For information on accessing the United States Code and researching U.S. statutory law generally, see Georgetown Law Library's Statutes Research Guide or the Statutory Research Tutorial.
As a note, the following statutes were selected for their importance; however, there are plenty of other amendments to the FDCA that might be relevant not noted here.
| Name and Year of Legislation | Public Law Number | Statutes at Large Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (1938) | P.L. 75-717 | 52 Stat. 1040 |
| Food Additives Amendment of 1958 | P.L. 85-929 | 72 Stat. 1784 |
| Radiation Control for Safety and Health Act | P.L. 90-602 | 82 Stat. 1173 |
| Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 | P.L. 98-471 | 98 Stat. 1585 |
| Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (1990) | P.L. 101-535 | 104 Stat. 2353 |
| Safe Medical Device Amendments of 1990 | P.L. 101-629 | 104 Stat. 4511 |
| Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act | P.L. 101-635 | 104 Stat. 4583 |
| Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (1994) | P.L. 103-417 | 108 Stat. 4332 |
| Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 | P.L. 105-115 | 111 Stat. 2296 |
| Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 | P.L. 110-85 | 121 Stat. 823 |
| FDA Food Safety Modernization Act * | P.L. 111-353 | |
| 21st Century Cures Act | P.L. 114-225 | 130 Stat. 1033 |
| FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 | P.L. 115-52 | 131 Stat. 1005-1090 |
*For an extensive explanation and analysis of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, please see the following on VitalLaw: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Law, Explanation, and Analysis.
Comprehensive legislative histories of all the laws listed above are available through ProQuest Legislative Insight. These histories include PDF versions of the Public Law, all versions of enacted and related bills, Congressional Record excerpts, and committee hearings, reports, and documents. The database can be searched using the popular name of the law, the Public Law number, or the Statutes at Large citation.
For assistance with finding additional information on the legislative history of the FDCA or finding legislative history of subsequent amendments and other food, drug, and cosmetic laws, see the Georgetown Law Library's Legislative History Research Guide and Legislative History Tutorial.
The following are selected legislative histories of the FDCA:
