The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday released a
report that recommends the agency takes steps to assess the
benefits and risks of nanotechnology.
As worldwide sales of nanotechnology-related products approached
the $1bn (€739m)mark last year, the food packaging industry could
be worth as much as $30bn (€22bn), according to a new study.
The 'slow progress' of the UK government to provide funding for
research into the potential risks of nanotechnology has been
criticised by a high-level advisory group.
UK food manufacturers and others are been asked to provide any
information on nanotechnologies they are working on, under a
programme launched this week by the government.
The most inclusive assessment of the potential dangers of
nanotechnology in the food industry is underway and could impact
the technology's wider integration into the common market.
The Institute of Food Science & Technology has identified
possible deficiencies in current regulations concerning the impact
of nanotechology on food and packaging.
Food companies have joined with gusto the legal race to win
monopoly control of discoveries in nanotechnology that could help
them market novel new products, according to a Spanish research
firm.
A UK research institute believes it has identified safe and
effective antimicrobial nanoparticles for food packaging, a
discovery that could revolutionise how food is packaged in the
future.
A £3.5 million grant for a new state-of-the-art nanotech research
centre in the UK underlines the potential of this brave new
technology for the food industry, writes Anthony Fletcher.
US-based Carbon Nanotechnologies (CNI) has issued 30 patents
related to the use of small diameter carbon nanotubes, or
fullerenes, which could revolutionise the way materials are made in
the future.
The practice of partnering computer simulations with real-world
experiments is becoming more vital as scientists delve deeper into
the potential of nantechnology, according to a US scientist.
Anthony Fletcher reports.
A UK report has concluded that the safety of the tiny particles
created by the emerging nanotechnology industry has not been fully
assessed, write Anthony Fletcher and Phil Taylor.
Researchers in the UK have been awarded a £1.4 million government
grant to develop a new generation of micro Rheometers to help
characterise and develop liquid based products.