Fremdstoffe und Vitalstoffe, Experten und der kritischeVerbraucher in der BRD der 1950er und 1960er Jahre

摘要

In the late Fifties and early Sixties the regulation of food additives represented a remarkable turningpoint in German consumer politics, establishing a debate about decision making and policy advice,altering the discourse of purity and contamination, and inaugurating a new political actor, the organizedcritical consumer. The amendment of the Food Law in December 1958 functioned as a negotiation proc-ess between representatives of science, industry and the state, which was institutionalized in the Sen-ate Commissions of the German Research Foundation. While these Commissions for preservatives, for-eign matter and colorants worked behind closed doors, a public discourse about the "toxic condition" ofmodern life and the negative role of the pharmaceutical and chemical industry gained strength. The debate about the admission of hexamethylenetetramine (hexa) took part at a crucial moment.Hexa was used as a preservative in the fish industry. But its anti microbial effectiveness was causedby the decomposition of hexa to formaldehyde. Despite the commission's verdict against hexa, thelobbying activities of the industry granted it a reprieve. In the media, the case of hexa was seen as atouchstone for the capacity of negotiated decision making and the ability of rational scientists to resistthe demands of industry. Finally, in 1963 it was the new political actor of the organized critical consumer,heir and successor to the housewife federations as well as to "purists" advocating life reform, who, sup-ported by the media, enforced the prohibition of hexa as a preservative.