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Nanotechnology is an emerging science and, if used to develop novel foods and processes, approval would be required under the 'Novel Foods Regulation' (Regulation (EC) No 258/97) to ensure products are safe. Nanotechnology is the manufacture and use of materials and structures at the nanometre scale (a nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre).
The Novel Foods Regulation can be found on the European Commission website via the external link at the bottom of this page.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the UK body responsible for the assessment of novel foods and it will not assess the safety of using nanotechnology in the food chain unless it is asked to do so. If a company wants authorisation to market food produced using nanotechnology, then the Agency is obliged to assess the food safety implications.
During any such safety assessment, the Agency will consult an independent advisory committee, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP). The ACNFP comprises experts who advise the Agency on a wide range of new foods and food technologies.
There are no specific criteria to consider particle size under the Novel Foods Regulation. However, the assessment of the food or food ingredient includes details of the composition, nutritional value, metabolism, intended use and the level of microbiological and chemical contaminants. Where appropriate, this might also include studies into the potential for toxic, nutritional and allergenic effects. In addition, details of the manufacturing process used to process the food or food ingredient are also considered, because novel food production processes can render a food ‘novel’ if it alters the final composition of the food.
As well as any such scientific safety assessment, the committee would also consider consumer concerns and ethical issues.
New materials that are manufactured with small particles that measure up to 100 nanometres in diameter may exhibit novel properties. Two Agency research projects were completed in 2008. One project gathered information on new and potential applications of this technology in the UK to materials and articles in contact with food specifically in the context of potential chemical migration into food. The other project carried out an assessment of the potential use of nanomaterials as food additives or food ingredients. Consumer safety and regulatory implications arising from potential uses were considered as part of the research. Reports will be published online but in the meantime copies are available on request from the library: infocentre@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk .
Nanotechnology can be defined as the design, characterisation, production and applications of structures, devices and systems by controlling shape and size at the nanometre scale. It covers a very wide range of activities, so it is probably more correct to refer to ‘nanotechnologies’.
Nanomaterials have been defined by the Royal Society as having one dimension less than 100 nanometres, but this is not a rigid definition and may change as the science evolves.
There is increasing interest in the nanoscale because properties of such materials can be very different from those at the larger scale, and potentially very useful. This can be because materials have a relatively larger surface area which can make them more chemically reactive. Materials at this scale can also have different optical, electrical or magnetic behaviour.
The types of material produced can be at the nanoscale in one dimension (very thin coatings), two dimensions (nanowires and nanotubes) or three dimensions (nanoparticles, such as very fine powder preparations). Nanotechnologies are not new – chemists have been making polymers based on nanoscale sub-units for many years and we are also exposed to nanoparticles in daily life (such as from vehicular exhaust emissions).
In its widest sense, nanotechnology and nanomaterials are a natural part of food processing and conventional foods, because the characteristic properties of many foods rely on nanometre sized components (such as nanoemulsions and foams). However, recent technological developments lead the way for manufactured nanoparticles to be added to food. These could be finely divided forms of existing ingredients, or completely novel chemical structures.
European Food Safety Authority opinion
In February 2009, the European Food Safety Authority published its opinion on the potential risks arising from nanoscience and nanotechnologies in food and feed. The main conclusions from the opinion are listed below:
House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology inquiry
In February 2009, the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology launched an inquiry into nanotechnologies and food. The Agency and other relevant bodies were called to give evidence. Further information, including the written evidence submitted by the Agency and other stakeholders, is available from the Committee's website via the link below.
UK Government consultation
The UK Government is developing a strategy for nanotechnologies to ensure that everyone in the UK can benefit from the societal and economic opportunities that these technologies may offer while addressing the challenges that they might present. To assist in this strategy, an evidence gathering website, which can be found at the link below, has been launched by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Stakeholders are invited to logon and answer a series of questions relating to nanotechnologies. The questions are structured to encompass both overarching themes and issues that are specific to each sector (including food). The Agency encourages stakeholders to view this website and provide feedback and comments by answering relevant questions.
European Commission consultation
The Commission has launched a public consultation on nanotechnologies in advance of a scientific hearing that will take place in Brussels on 10 September 2009. The hearing, which can be found at the link below, is not specifically about food – it will focus on scientific aspects of the recent opinions of two scientific committees dealing with emerging health risks and with consumer products. The two committees are the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) and the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS).
More information about nanotechnology and food can be found at the link below, in a paper sent to the FSA Board in April 2006 and in the written evidence that the Agency submitted to the House of Lords inquiry in March 2009.
Further information about nanotechnology can be found in a report presenting the findings of a review to identify potential gaps in regulation or risk assessment relating to the use of nanotechnologies and food. See the report, which the FSA consulted on in 2006, at the link below. In addition, see the summary of reponses to the consultation , published in August 2008.
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