The Food and Drug Administration recently held a science fair of sorts in order to allow their scientists and researchers on staff to communicate with one another the myriad ways they’re approaching various safety problems. The event sought to outline the ways that the organization comes to decisions about regulations.
The event is known as the Foods and Veterinary Medicine Science and Research Conference, and the agency goes into greater depth about the importance of the event in a new report. Scientists highlighted their work through the usage of a series of posters plastered around the facility in Silver Spring, Maryland that acts as the headquarters for the FDA.
One project the FDA illuminated seeks to reduce the threat of Listeria monocytogenes, a type of bacteria responsible for a number of food recalls. The FDA is concerned that the bacteria can produce a biofilm that’s resistance to certain sanitation procedures. Scientists are currently sequencing the substance’s genome and using bioinformatics to figure out a way to eliminate the threat.
Other projects looked at things like establishing a database of fish DNA to ensure consumers are being handed products they intended to purchase rather than knockoffs and using veterinary stem cell therapy to improve animal health.