You might think that the cleverest thing a physicist can do with your food is to explain why toast always lands dropped buttered side down (incidentally, they can). But the UK House Committee on Science and Technology Lords today released a report noting the increasing capacity of nanotechnology, which is concerned with particles, methods and devices at the nanoscale, has become important for the food and food packaging. For example, the molecular structure of plastic beer bottles may be modified so that they retain gases such as carbon dioxide, as well as those in C this glass makes sure the next round has a foamy head.
Some, including the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles expressed concern that the union of nanotechnology and food could create unexpected dangers.
Nanoparticles can sneak through the barriers in the body unreachable to ordinary foods and could potentially enter the bloodstream and accumulate in vital organs.
Yet the Lords committee, while predictable calling for more research on the subject, concluded that there was no concrete evidence of danger "nanofoods" and identified several potential advantages, such as the possibility of a salty taste of salt by changing the size of the crystals. At the same time, the Lords recognize "huge gaps" in knowledge, including precisely define what constitutes a nanofood. "We urge the European Commission to clarify the definition of a nanoparticle in the context of food," said President John Krebs committee. "Size is not everything. You have to think how the particles interact with the body "
At a conference yesterday, Stephen Holgate, an immunologist at Southampton University Hospitals Trust and advisor to the Committee, drew attention to the potential of nano-engineering to modify the allergenic properties of food: "nanomaterials are used to enhance immunological responses in the medical world. The very limited amount of research has been done in nano-engineered versions of allergenic foods indicates they divert the immune response away from allergy, but not a single nanoparticle is the same as the next. "
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