Number 50 in a series of service monographs analyzing the various functions of the United States Government. The series was published by the Brookings Institute for Government Research, an "association of citizens cooperating with public officials in the scientific study of government to promote efficiency and economy in its operations." Each monograph contains the history of a government establishment and development of its service, its functions in great specificity, its organization, a compilation of the laws and regulations governing its operations, and financial statements showing appropriations and expenditures.

This work pertains to the Food, Drug, and Insecticide Administration (today the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA). Of note, several sections discuss the Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, which prohibited the sale of unsanitary, adulterated, misleadingly advertised food and drugs.