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DANIEL ARSENAULT/GETTY IMAGES |
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| A Half-Century Of Invention |
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ARS is the brains behind countless innovations in food and other fields |
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Posted Sunday, October 3, 2004
1950s
ARS invents DEET bug repellent and instant potato flakes. It also rescues the frozen-food industry by establishing the basic requirements for preserving taste, color and texture, which are still followed today
1960s
ARS develops permanent-press cotton, shrink-proof wool and permanent creases in wool trousers. It finds a way to prevent gelling in evaporated milk and uses sterilization to eradicate the screwworm fly in the U.S.
1970s
SuperSlurper, an ARS cornstarch compound that can absorb up to 2,000 times its weight in water, gets laced into baby powder, wound dressings and fuel filters. It inspires similar materials used in disposable diapers and maxipads
1980s
ARS hits upon the basis for lactose-free dairy products and creates 100% soybean ink in four colors, which is now used in USA Today and other papers. The agency forms a partnership with a private firm to vaccinate unborn chicks through their eggshells
1990s
The agency makes a
low-calorie fat substitute out of soluble oat fiber that becomes a hit. ARS invents a large-scale process for peeling orange sections and finds that a lack of vitamin E or selenium can make a benign human virus become virulent
2000s
ARS clones the first transgenic cow with an added gene to protect against mastitis and co-patents a method of preserving the look and taste of fresh apple slices for weeks, the basis of a new side order at McDonald's
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