Ethical and Regulatory Issues in Applications of Nanotechnology in Food

Abstract

This chapter presents the social and ethical issues with nanotechnology and international regulatory approaches towards the responsible development of nanotechnology in food. It analyzes the benefits and unintended risks to human health and environment which can occur in current and future scenarios. Nanotechnology is having an impact on all stages of food science from farm to fork, such as the way food is grown, enhancing food taste, improving health benefits of foods, food processing, food packaging and food safety. Environmental, health, and safety issues that can arise with nanomaterials necessitate significant research to understand the risks associated with them. Since most nanoparticles first migrate to the lungs, the chief human toxicity concern surrounding nanotechnology is lung damage. The growing need for stronger legislation on nanotechnology has convinced every country to make regulatory approaches for the use of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials have very different properties such as greater reactivity, strength, fluorescence, and conduction compared to micrometer-sized materials.