Nanotechnology in Foods - Nanotechnologies in Food and Agriculture - page 4

1.2 Nanotechnologies in the Food Industry

The foods which have been cultivated, produced, processed, or packaged using
nanotechnology techniques or tools or to which manufactured nanomaterials, i.e.,
any material that is intentionally produced in the nanoscale to have specific
properties or specific compositions, have been added are termed as nanofoods
(Morris 2007 ). In reality, nanofood has been part of food processing for centuries,
as naturally many food structures exist at the nanoscale (Shekhon 2010 ). The
applications of nanotechnologies for the food and allied sector fall into the follow-
ing main categories:

• Where nanosized, nano-encapsulated additives have been used
• Where food ingredients have been processed or formulated to form

nanostructures
• Where engineered nanomaterials (ENMs)/manufactured nanomaterials defined
as “any material that is intentionally produced in the nanoscale to have specific
properties or a specific composition” have been incorporated to develop
improved, active, or intelligent materials for food packaging or in food contact
materials (FCMs) or surfaces
• Where nanotechnology-based devices and materials have been used, e.g., for
nanofiltration (NF) and water treatment
• Where nano(bio)sensors have been used for food safety and traceability and
contaminant detection
• Where applications of ENMs have been suggested for pesticides, veterinary
drugs, and other agrochemicals to improve food production systems (Chaudhry
et al. 2008 ; Momin et al. 2013 )

Food industry, being a multi-technological manufacturing industry, involves a
wide variety of raw materials, stringent biosafety regulations, and well-regulated
technological process. Nanotechnology is moving out of the laboratory and into
every sector of food production. Nanotechnology-based food and health food
products, and food packaging materials, are already available to consumers in
some countries. Estimates of commercially available nanotechnology-derived
food products vary widely between 150-600 nanofoods and 400-500 nanofood
packaging applications (Cientifica Report 2006 ; Daniells 2007 ; Helmut Kaiser
Consultancy Group 2007a , b ; Reynolds 2007 ; Momin et al. 2013 ).
Nanotechnology has the potential to address many of the industry s current

needs, and it is expected that nanotechnology-derived food products will be
increasingly available to consumers worldwide in the coming future.

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