The Poison Eaters Audiobook By Gail Jarrow cover art

The Poison Eaters

Fighting Danger and Fraud in Our Food and Drugs

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Poison Eaters

By: Gail Jarrow
Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $9.45

Buy for $9.45

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Formaldehyde, borax, salicylic acid. Today these chemicals are used in embalming fluids, cleaning supplies, and acne medications. But just over a hundred years ago, they were routinely added to all kinds of food by unregulated and unethical companies. Noted science and history writer Gail Jarrow introduces listeners to the relentless work of U.S. government chemist Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, who mounted a thirty-year campaign to protect consumers from harmful food and drugs. As part of his research, he tested food additives by serving them to a squad of volunteers—the poison eaters. The stubborn dedication of Wiley and his allies eventually led to the creation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and to safer—less poisonous!—food, drugs, and cosmetics.

©2019 Gail Jarrow (P)2024 Recorded Books
Biographies Education & Learning Government Growing Up & Facts of Life Health History North America Science & Technology Social Studies
No reviews yet