|
|
|
The Use of Engineered Nanomaterials in Food and Food-Related Products
Introduction
To encourage the development of nanotechnology and provide coordinating and management responsibilities for this technology, Congress enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003. As mandated by this legislation, a National Nanotechnology Program was established to set goals, priorities, and means of measuring progress for nanotechnology research and to authorize and coordinate funding by the various federal agencies that are involved in fostering nanotechnology. A National Science and Technology Council was also established to coordinate “science and technology policy across the diverse entities that make up the Federal research and development enterprise.” The Council is chaired by the President and other members include the Vice President, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, various Cabinet Secretaries and the leaders of various agencies.
U.S. scientists and engineers, who are working at the nanoscale level, are developing novel materials and derivative products rapidly, and currently available products that incorporate nanomaterials include certain electronics, cosmetics, sunscreen, tennis balls, (to my knowledge, no food additive that incorporates man-made nanomaterials is approved) clothes washers and odor-free clothing.
The Technology
Nanotechnology incorporates a wide range of techniques for producing tiny particles, thin films, and other materials on a scale of approximately one to one hundred nanometers. This technology gives engineers and scientists the ability to create materials, devices and systems with new functions and properties. This technology is being used in virtually all major industrial sectors including aerospace, automobiles, coatings, consumer products, electronics, medicine, and specialty materials. However, man is not the first to use this technology, as Mother Nature has mastered this technology, as illustrated by the naturally occurring nanostructures observed in nature, in the smallest to largest creatures, in plants, in animals and even in our mother’s milk.
Questions Related to Nanotechnology
The advent of nanotechnology has also fostered a number of questions concerning the safety and the need for regulation of these materials. For example, the application of nanotechnology to food packaging and its potential use in food pathogen detection, food security, nutrient delivery, and food ingredients has generated questions about the safety of nanomaterials in biological systems. Are these materials safe? Does the current regulatory framework adapt well to engineered nanomaterials in food-related applications as it is designed to do for other new materials manufactured for use in foods? Are there research needs or knowledge gaps that researchers need to address to better assess the human health and environmental risks of these materials? Can toxicology data generated on nanomaterials via dermal or pulmonary exposure be of use in informing us in the assessment of risks from oral exposure of nanomaterials in food packaging or food ingredients? Can we use knowledge of naturally occurring nanomaterials that we have long been exposed to, to help us design safe new and novel structures?
Learn more about nanotechnology and nanomaterials in food.
|
