Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is a private, not-for-profit, product safety testing and certification organization. Founded in 1894, UL tests more than eighteen thousand different products for more than fifty thousand customers. It operates testing centers and has customers throughout the world. On a voluntary basis, manufacturers submit products to UL for testing and safety certification. There are no laws specifying that a UL mark must be used. (In the United States, many municipalities have laws, codes, or regulations that require a product to be tested by a nationally recognized testing laboratory before it can be sold in the area, but not necessarily by UL, so UL does not have a monopoly). UL successfully ensures high-quality standards in the fields of electrical products, fire suppression devices, automotive equipment, and much more. UL even certifies the electrical and mechanical aspects of medical devices. The success of UL in these fields suggests that UL and similar organizations might also ensure safe and high-quality drugs.