Control, regulación y fraudeuna historia de la alimentación en Huelva (1855-1904)

Abstract

This research focuses on the diet of the city of Huelva during the second half of the XIX Century, specifically between the years 1855 and 1904. It is at that period of time that the first Spanish health code was established: the organic health Law of 1855. Historiography consistently states that it was the establishment of liberalism in the organization of the Spanish health system. However, it was also a transitional period from an epidemiological point of view, regarding how food supplies were understood and the way the food chain was structured. Moreover, at this time, Huelva was experiencing a profound transformation process at all levels other than these. These epistemological grounds have been used as a basis for the analysis of the food chain in Huelva, or the phases a product go through from the moment it is produced by the arable or pastoral farms- primary stage- to the time consumers get it. In this sense it has been paid attention, on one hand, to how this system was conceived and organized by the local government. On the other hand, to the position on which it was situated within the articulation of the health system in Huelva and to the new guidelines food control demanded, leading to an examination of the various evolutionary stages of the food chain. In this sense, the exploitation and production of the agriculture and livestock farming have been studied, together with the main scene for the food processing: the slaughterhouse- construction, regulation and management- and ultimately the commercialization stage. As a consequence, there is an analysis of the market place in the last chapter, including the fish market and others like bakery and dairy or other ways of selling. In the concluding section, the notion of food on the table has been examined, considering consumption and fraud as guiding principles.