Tainted meat products. 1906 artwork showing a butcher, representing the Beef Trust, surrounded by meat products tainted by disease or dangerous additives. The Beef Trust was a conglomerate of US meat packing companies that controlled the industry. Conditions in its plants were often unsanitary and dangerous additives and preservatives were added to their products. In 1906 The Federal Meat Inspection Act and The Pure Food and Drug Act were passed to stop these practices.