In the early 1900s, a group of U.S. government scientists started a private dinner club, which was dubbed the Poison Squad. The goal of the Poison Squad was simple: they were tasked with trying some of the most commonly used food additives in order to determine their effects. During each of the poison squads trials, the members would eat steadily increasing amounts of each additive, carefully tracking the impact that it had on their bodies. They would stop when the members started to get sick. They documented their illnesses in order to convince Congress to pass food safety laws.