ABSTRACT
Ensuring that food is without risk of harm (contaminants, natural or industrial toxins, bacterial or viral infection) to the health of the population and without misleading consumers (reduced volumes, misleading scales and balances) seems to have been a concern for all societies, even in antiquity:
• Assyrian tablets specify weights and measures for wheat. • Egyptian papyri specify the labeling of certain foodstuffs. • The Republic of Athens had controllers to evaluate the quality and purity of beer and
wine.
