The good, the bad and the nanoparticles

Posted by Andrew Wadge on January 25th 2008 in General interest

One of New Scientist’s editorials this week highlights that nanoparticles are the new ‘chemicals’, but not the new black, if you’re coming at this blog from a fashion standpoint. The Soil Association, which campaigns for organic food and farming, has announced that it is banning nanoparticles from its certified organic products. However, it’s only banning human-made nanoparticles. Natural ones are just fine apparently.

Chemicals, in the world-outside-science-as-we-know-it, are always the bad boys – the non-natural enemies of all that is good. The fact that everything we know is made of chemicals seems to have passed this world by. And now New Scientist points out that nanoparticles are in the same position: human-made bad, natural good. Although of course soot and, say, viruses, aren’t what you’d necessarily welcome in your dinner.

Agency discussions around nanotechnology to date have been very much in the context of how they may apply to packaging or new preparations of food ingredients, and the ethical, regulatory and chemical safety challenges this may raise and we’ve currently got some research running on the implications for our work.

Last year’s Foresight report, overseen by the then Government Chief Scientist Sir David King, talks of nanoscale sensors tracking different foods as they travel through the body, leading to adjustments in molecular structures as a means of aiding digestion and/or reducing the body’s absorption of sugars and how it stores fat.

So with it on everyone’s scanned horizon, nanotechnology looks set to be on a number of agendas in the coming years. It would help, however, if we could classify it as what it is, a new technology, rather than as another recruiting poster for the neonaturals.

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Nano Particles

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on 22/02/2008 - 13:54

This whole area is full of contradictions worldwide. The FSA has it seems arbitarily 'banned' their use within food processing based on EEC advice. In Australia they are viewed as 'procesing aids', and yet I can purchase nano colloids from UK companies (via the internet) to be drunk as homopathic remedies?

My parents have just purchase a Samsung washing machine that uses nanotechnology as a 'sanitising' system, and the same company sells fridges coated with nano materials.

For those of us working in the technical side of the food industry some real clarity and decisions from the FSA based on worldwide results/experinces/research not just hiding behind the EU

Nanoparticles

Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on 04/02/2008 - 22:00

With repect I find this article very inappropriate, and with repect would have expected the FSA to point out that this was taken out of context or not be published by yourselves, and with repect I was suprised at your comment. Especially as it could be taken as an arguement by those of vested interest, we have seen this in action too many times in the last ten years or so. And in doing so a lot of damage has been done to the credibility of science, and technolgy and those representing the peer review(s).
Kind regards