Itchmo: News For Dogs & Cats

David Acheson, who was recently appointed the FDA’s assistant commissioner for food protection, discussed the future of food safety.

He states that increasing the number of inspections will not be a priority, but instead the FDA will focus on prevention of contamination. Acheson also called the FDA a “reactive agency” and says that’s a job the FDA must continue to do. But he also agrees that approach needs change. Prevention needs to be a focus and that’s where he’s like to take the agency.

Acheson seemed lukewarm on wanting the mandatory recall ability. His take on the formation of a single federal food safety agency was that it would be “more likely to create a bigger hole in food safety” in the short term.

Acheson defended the dedication of the FDA staff, and did not comment on the criticisms of the agency.

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Remember your school science fairs? Making homemade volcanoes, creating solar system diagrams or tending an ant farm. Well, times have changed. Now kids are coming up with marketable, patentable products.

Three high school sophomore girls made a homemade pet scratcher out of three pieces of wood and a small swatch of carpet. It ain’t the prettiest, but pets don’t usually care about aesthetics.

The arm can be attached to a wall, so a pet can go to the scratcher and scratch himself. Their product qualified for the 58th annual Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair at MIT. At the fair, they were presented with a patent award which is given to the project that is the most patentable. Now, the girls are just waiting to see if their invention can actually be patented.