Yet another food worry? Nanoparticles.
As You Sow, an advocacy group for environmental corporate accountability, has been paying close attention to nanotechnology. It has just issued a report, Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Foods.
According to an account in the New York Times, the CEO of As You Sow, Andy Behar, says:
We’re not taking a no nano position…We’re saying just show it’s safe before you put these things into food or food packaging.
The FDA’s nanotechnology web page provides a 2007 report from a task force, a 2012 fact sheet, and a draft-for-comment on how industry should deal with nanoparticles in foods and food packaging.
The fact sheet says:
FDA has long encountered the combination of promise, risk, and uncertainty that accompanies emerging technologies…The very changes in biological, chemical and other properties that can make nanotechnology applications so exciting also may merit examination to determine any effects on product safety, effectiveness, or other attributes. Understanding nanotechnology remains a top FDA priority. FDA is monitoring the evolving science and has a robust research agenda to help assess the safety and effectiveness of products using nanotechnology.
My translation: the FDA has no idea whether this technology is safe or not and is depending on industry to find out.
Because the FDA does not require labeling of nanomaterials (the European Union does), you have to decide for yourself whether this is something you want to add to your list of food worries.
Just a thought: real foods don’t have added nanoparticles.
