In 1954, first large-scale radiological examination of food carried out by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when it received reports that tuna suspected of being radioactive was being imported from Japan following atomic blasts in the Pacific.

The protection of the public against unnecessary exposure to potentially hazardous radiation was a function of the FDA’s Bureau of Radiological Health. The first large scale radiological examinations of food were made in 1954 when the FDA began round-the-clock checking of frozen tuna from Pacific waters exposed to fallout from atomic bomb tests.

More than 33 million pounds of the fish were checked with Geiger counters originally designed for civil defense work. Determining the extent of atomic contamination of foods, drugs, and cosmetics, and workable procedures for decontamination, were major concerns of the FDA scientists through the 1950s. Based on this experience came the FDA’s “total diet” studies which detect and measure many substances in the United States food supply including vitamins and pesticides.

In 1983, radiation safety became the responsibility of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.