The Poison Table

"The Poison Table – The twelve men who ate borax to save your dinner" tells the heroic and stomach-churning story of Dr. Harvey Wiley's "Poison Squad." In 1902, before there were any food safety laws in America, milk was preserved with formaldehyde (embalming fluid), and meat was treated with borax. To prove these additives were dangerous, Wiley recruited twelve young male volunteers to eat all their meals at a special table in the Department of Agriculture. Science historian Arthur Pure chronicles the "Hygienic Table Trials." For months, these men knowingly consumed increasing doses of common food preservatives while chemists measured their urine, sweat, and feces. Their sickness and suffering captured the nation's attention. "The Poison Table" credits these human guinea pigs with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. It is a reminder that the safety label on your ketchup bottle was bought with the cramps and nausea of brave volunteers.