By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team
"Be safe" is part of the Urban Dictionary as a statement of farewell. The Urban Dictionary is an online source started in 1999 to help us understand slang words and phrases. "Be safe" is a way to say goodbye and to stay out of trouble, especially with the law.
In his 1906 novel The Jungle, author Upton Sinclair warned of adulterated and unsanitary practices in the meat industry. The uproar about food impurities prompted Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The act passed the United States House of Representatives with a vote of 240 for and 17 against. President Theodore Roosevelt signed the legislation on June 30, 1906. The act required drugs to meet purity standards, as well as be labeled with the active ingredients.
