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'''Nanotechnology in Food''' refers to the use of nanoparticles - particles that range from 1 to 100 nanometers in size - in food. [[Nanotechnology]] is already used in a number of consumer products, including foods, supplements, pesticides used to grow food,<ref>[http://www.ktvz.com/news/25273864/detail.html Nanotech Pesticides? Safety Issues Arise: Could Be Safer Than Present Products; Caution Needed], KTVZ.com, October 4, 2010, Accessed November 6, 2010.</ref> and food packaging.<ref>[[http://action.foe.org/pressRelease.jsp?press_release_KEY=343 Nanotech Exposed in Grocery Store Aisles], Friends of the Earth, March 11, 2008, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref> It is also used in supplements, food packaging and cookware, and in actual food items.<ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/search/ Consumer Products Inventory], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref>
'''Nanotechnology in Food''' refers to the use of nanoparticles - particles that range from 1 to 100 nanometers in size - in food. [[Nanotechnology]] is already used in a number of consumer products, including foods, supplements, pesticides used to grow food,<ref>[http://www.ktvz.com/news/25273864/detail.html Nanotech Pesticides? Safety Issues Arise: Could Be Safer Than Present Products; Caution Needed], KTVZ.com, October 4, 2010, Accessed November 6, 2010.</ref> and food packaging.<ref>[[http://action.foe.org/pressRelease.jsp?press_release_KEY=343 Nanotech Exposed in Grocery Store Aisles], Friends of the Earth, March 11, 2008, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref> It is also used in supplements, food packaging and cookware, and in actual food items.<ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/search/ Consumer Products Inventory], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref>
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== Uses
in
Food ==
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== Uses
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=== In
Food
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:"A study by American, Swiss, and Norwegian researchers entitled ''Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products'' estimates and quantifies the human exposure resulting from [[Nano Titanium Dioxide|nanoparticle sized titanium dioxide]] (TiO2) found in processed foods. The study measured nanoparticles in food-grade TiO2 and derived estimates of nano TiO2 in foods including [[M&M’s]], [[Betty Crocker]] Whipped Cream Frosting, [[Jell-O]] Banana Cream Pudding, [[Mentos]], [[Trident (gum)|Trident]] and [[Dentyne]] gums, Vanilla Milkshake [[Pop Tarts]], and [[Nestlé]] Original Coffee Creamer. The authors state that “electron microscopy and stability testing of food-grade TiO2 […] suggests that approximately 36% of the particles are less than 100nm in at least one dimension.""<ref name="Throughthecracks">[[Andrew Behar]], Danielle Fugere, and Michael Passoff," [http://www.asyousow.org/health_safety/nanoissuebrief.shtml Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food]," As You Sow.</ref><ref>Alex Weir, Paul Westerhoff, Lars Fabricius, et al., “[http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es204168d Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products],” Environmental Science & Technology 46, no. 4 (2012): 2242-2250.</ref>
:"A study by American, Swiss, and Norwegian researchers entitled ''Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products'' estimates and quantifies the human exposure resulting from [[Nano Titanium Dioxide|nanoparticle sized titanium dioxide]] (TiO2) found in processed foods. The study measured nanoparticles in food-grade TiO2 and derived estimates of nano TiO2 in foods including [[M&M’s]], [[Betty Crocker]] Whipped Cream Frosting, [[Jell-O]] Banana Cream Pudding, [[Mentos]], [[Trident (gum)|Trident]] and [[Dentyne]] gums, Vanilla Milkshake [[Pop Tarts]], and [[Nestlé]] Original Coffee Creamer. The authors state that “electron microscopy and stability testing of food-grade TiO2 […] suggests that approximately 36% of the particles are less than 100nm in at least one dimension.""<ref name="Throughthecracks">[[Andrew Behar]], Danielle Fugere, and Michael Passoff," [http://www.asyousow.org/health_safety/nanoissuebrief.shtml Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food]," As You Sow.</ref><ref>Alex Weir, Paul Westerhoff, Lars Fabricius, et al., “[http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es204168d Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food and Personal Care Products],” Environmental Science & Technology 46, no. 4 (2012): 2242-2250.</ref>
Further testing by the group [[As You Sow]] found nano-sized titanium dioxide in [[Dunkin' Donuts]] Powdered Cake Donuts and [[Hostess]] Donettes.<ref name="Throughthecracks"/> Corporations selling foods with nanoparticles are not always aware of the use of nanotechnology in their products, as they may have been included in an ingredient by a supplier without their knowledge.<ref>Andrew Behar, As You Sow, telephone conversation with Jill Richardson, July 17, 2013.</ref>
Further testing by the group [[As You Sow]] found nano-sized titanium dioxide in [[Dunkin' Donuts]] Powdered Cake Donuts and [[Hostess]] Donettes.<ref name="Throughthecracks"/> Corporations selling foods with nanoparticles are not always aware of the use of nanotechnology in their products, as they may have been included in an ingredient by a supplier without their knowledge.<ref>Andrew Behar, As You Sow, telephone conversation with Jill Richardson, July 17, 2013.</ref>
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==
Uses in
Food Packaging ==
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= In
Food Packaging ==
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"Nanomaterials are also being explored for their promise to improve food packaging, including providing longer shelf-life for foods, better barrier properties, improved heat resistance and temperature control, and anti-microbial and fungal protections, among others."<ref name="Throughthecracks"/><ref>Alexia Karpilov, “[http://www.iopp.org/files/public/RITkarpilovIPTAsubmission.pdf Nanomaterials in Food Packaging: Promise and Potential Peril],” February 14, 2006.</ref> There are many questions about nanoparticles' ability to migrate into the food and about their safety if ingested.
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Nanotechnology is already used in:
Nanotechnology is already used in:
* Adhesive for McDonald's burger containers<ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/6806/ Adhesive for McDonald's burger containers], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref>
* Adhesive for McDonald's burger containers<ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/6806/ Adhesive for McDonald's burger containers], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref>
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* Non-stick coating for bakeware<ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/5206/ Non-stick self-assembling nanofilms for glass bakeware], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/xtrema_cookware/ Xtrema Cookware], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/xtrema_teaware/ Xtrema Teaware], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref>
* Non-stick coating for bakeware<ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/5206/ Non-stick self-assembling nanofilms for glass bakeware], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/xtrema_cookware/ Xtrema Cookware], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/browse/products/xtrema_teaware/ Xtrema Teaware], Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Technologies, Accessed November 7, 2010.</ref>
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Companies such as [[Kraft]] and [[BASF]] are cited as developing packaging that uses nanotechnology to extend product shelf life or change color when the food has spoiled.<ref name="OECD05"/>
"Nanomaterials are also being explored for their promise to improve food packaging, including providing longer shelf-life for foods, better barrier properties, improved heat resistance and temperature control, and anti-microbial and fungal protections, among others."
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Companies such as [[Kraft]] and [[BASF]] are cited as developing packaging that uses nanotechnology to extend product shelf life or change color when the food has spoiled.<ref name="OECD05"/>
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== Novel Uses
of Nano in Food and Agriculture
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== Novel Uses
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As far back as 2005, an OECD report cited the following uses of nanotechnology:<ref name="OECD05">[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/1/44108334.pdf Small Sizes that Matter: Opportunities and Risks of Nanotechnologies], Allianz AG and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005.</ref>
As far back as 2005, an OECD report cited the following uses of nanotechnology:<ref name="OECD05">[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/1/44108334.pdf Small Sizes that Matter: Opportunities and Risks of Nanotechnologies], Allianz AG and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005.</ref>
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* Nano Ponds: "One of the USA’s biggest farmed fish companies, Clear Spring Trout, is adding nanoparticle vaccines to trout ponds, where they are taken up by fish"
* Nano Ponds: "One of the USA’s biggest farmed fish companies, Clear Spring Trout, is adding nanoparticle vaccines to trout ponds, where they are taken up by fish"
* Food safety: "Scientists from the [[University of Wisconsin]] have successfully used single bacterial cells to make tiny bio-electronic circuits, which could in the future be used to detect bacteria, toxins and proteins."
* Food safety: "Scientists from the [[University of Wisconsin]] have successfully used single bacterial cells to make tiny bio-electronic circuits, which could in the future be used to detect bacteria, toxins and proteins."
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== Safety ==
== Regulation of Nanotech in Food ==
== Regulation of Nanotech in Food ==
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* U.S. National Organic Standards Board, [http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5087795&acct=nosb Guidance Document—Engineered Nanomaterials in Production, Processing and Packaging], October 28, 2010, 3-4.
* U.S. National Organic Standards Board, [http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5087795&acct=nosb Guidance Document—Engineered Nanomaterials in Production, Processing and Packaging], October 28, 2010, 3-4.
* “[http://www.nano.gov/about-nni/what/vision-goals NNI Vision, Goals, and Objectives],” National Nanotechnology Initiative.
* “[http://www.nano.gov/about-nni/what/vision-goals NNI Vision, Goals, and Objectives],” National Nanotechnology Initiative.
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* National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology,
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Supplement to the President’s 2013 Budget: The National Nanotechnology Initiative – Research and Development Leading to a Revolution in
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Technology and Industry, February 2012, 9-10, http://www.nano.gov/sites/default/files/pub_resource/nni_2013_budget_supplement.pdf.
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25 National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, Supplement to the President’s 2013 Budget.
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26 Michael Siegrist, Arnim Wiek, Asgeir Helland, et al., “Risks and Nanotechnology: The Public is More Concerned than Experts and Industry,”
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Nature Nanotechnology 67 (2007): 2, http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v2/n2/full/nnano.2007.10.html.
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27 ; Timothy V. Duncan, “The Communications Challenges
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Presented by Nanofoods,” Nature Nanotechnology 6 (2011): 683-688,
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http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v6/n11/full/nnano.2011.193.html.
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28 Antje Grobe, Mikko Rissanen, Philippe Funda et al., Nanotechnologies from the Consumers’ Point of View: What Consumers Know and What
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They Would Like to Know, (The Swiss Confederation Federal Department of Home Affairs and Federal Office of Public Health, March 2012), 4,
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http://www.bag.admin.ch/nanotechnologie/index.html?lang=en.
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29 Grobe et al., Nanotechnologies from the Consumers’ Point of View.
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30 “Rules on GMOs in the EU – Ban on GMOs Cultivation,” European Commission,
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http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/gmo_ban_cultivation_en.htm.
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31 Eliza Barclay, “Activists Say Americans Support Labeling Genetically Modified Food,” NPR, March 27, 2012,
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http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/27/149474012/activists-say-americans-support-labeling-genetically-modified-food;
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National Survey of Healthcare Consumers: Genetically Engineered Foods, (Thomson Reuters, October 2010),
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http://www.factsforhealthcare.com/pressroom/NPR_report_GeneticEngineeredFood.pdf.
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32 Cookson Beecher, “Calls for GMO Labeling Keep Cropping Up,” Food Safety News, January 27, 2012,
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http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/calls-for-gmo-labeling-keep-flaring-up/.
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33 House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, Nanotechnologies and Food - Volume I: Report, January 8, 2010, 8,
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http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldselect/ldsctech/22/22i.pdf.
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34 European Food Safety Authority, “EFSA Publishes First Practical Guidance for Assessing Nano Applications in Food & Feed,” news release,
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May 10, 2011, http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/sc110510.htm.
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35 Nanotechnology Industries Association, “European Union Passes Regulation on the Labelling of Nanomaterials in Food,” news release,
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October 6, 2011, http://www.nanotechia.org/global-news/european-union-passes-regulation-on-the-labelling-of-nanomaterials-in-food.
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36 FDA, Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes, Including Emerging Technologies,
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on the Safety and Regulatory Status of Food Ingredients and Food Contact Substances, Including Food Ingredients that are Color Additives,
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April 2012, http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodIngredientsandPackaging/.
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This guidance includes recommendations that demonstrate its current thinking on an issue. They are not requirements. This document notes
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that the word should in guidances “means that something is suggested or recommended, but not required.”
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37 FDA, Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes.
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38 FDA, Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes.
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39 FDA, Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes.
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40 FDA, Draft Guidance for Industry: Considering Whether an FDA-Regulated Product Involves the Application of Nanotechnology;
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U.S. Office of Science and Technology, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the United States Trade Representative, “Policy Principles
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for the U.S. Decision-Making Concerning Regulation and Oversight of Applications of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials” (June 9, 2011), 4,
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/for-agencies/nanotechnology-regulation-and-oversight-principles.pdf.
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41 FDA, Draft Guidance for Industry: Considering Whether an FDA-Regulated Product Involves the Application of Nanotechnology;
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* U.S. Office of Science and Technology, “Policy Principles for the U.S. Decision-Making Concerning Regulation and Oversight of Applications of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials.”
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42 Assuring the Safety of Nanomaterials in Food Packaging: The Regulatory Process and Key Issues, (Woodrow Wilson International Center
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for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and GMA, 2008), 45,
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http://www.nanotechproject.org/process/assets/files/6704/taylor_gma_pen_packaging1.pdf
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43 “Workshop on Measurement Methods for the Release of Engineered Nanomaterials from Food and Absorption by the Body,” (webinar, NanoRelease Food Additive, Washington DC, December 11, 2012),
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http://www.ilsi.org/ResearchFoundation/RSIA/Pages/NRFA_2012Workshop.aspx.
===External articles===
===External articles===
* [[Andrew Behar]], Danielle Fugere, and Michael Passoff," [http://www.asyousow.org/health_safety/nanoissuebrief.shtml Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food]," As You Sow.
* [[Andrew Behar]], Danielle Fugere, and Michael Passoff," [http://www.asyousow.org/health_safety/nanoissuebrief.shtml Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food]," As You Sow.
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* Twilight Greenaway, “[http://grist.org/food/nanoparticles-in-your-food-youre-already-eating-them/ Nanoparticles in Your Food? You’re Already Eating Them],” Grist, December 3, 2012.
* Andrew Schneider, [http://www.aolnews.com/nanotech/article/regulated-or-not-nano-foods-coming-to-a-store-near-you/19401246 Regulated or Not, Nano-Foods Coming to a Store Near You] aol news, March 24, 2010.
* Andrew Schneider, [http://www.aolnews.com/nanotech/article/regulated-or-not-nano-foods-coming-to-a-store-near-you/19401246 Regulated or Not, Nano-Foods Coming to a Store Near You] aol news, March 24, 2010.
* Ben Lilliston, [http://iatp.typepad.com/thinkforward/2010/10/nanotech-organic.html Nanotech Organic?], Think Forward, October 14, 2010.
* Ben Lilliston, [http://iatp.typepad.com/thinkforward/2010/10/nanotech-organic.html Nanotech Organic?], Think Forward, October 14, 2010.