Quality Control in the British Food System from the Victorian Age to the Self-Service Revolution

During the Victorian Age adulteration in the British food industry seriously threatened the health of the population. Public safety standards were totally inadequate to contrast the phenomenon but no significant change took place until the mid-20th century, when the self-service format spread in post-war Europe. This paper explores the emergence of quality control standards in the British food system by adopting the case study of a little dairy store which, established in 1869, and which shortly earned a solid reputation for quality and became one of the leading food retailers in the 1970s: Sainsbury’s.