Nanomaterials in the Human Food Chain

Abstract

Among the basal sectors of contemporaneous, society, agriculture, and food production play an important role in the human welfare, not only by providing the required supplies for public consumption, but also by having significant effect in other vital sectors, such as human health and environmental impact. In view of this fact, food producers have continuously incorporated novel technologies and scientific achievements in their line of the production in order to meet the ever-growing demand of food supply and quality. Nanotechnology, in turn, follows this trend permeating through every step of food chain, from the analysis of availability of cultivation area until the final product delivered to customers. These steps can include biological safety in crops and animal breeding, processing with nutritional enhancement and flavor increasing, packaging, and quality control. The oriented research in nanotechnology has contributed for the raising of innovated materials, granting opportunities of development of new functionalities to be applied in food systems, including antimicrobial metallic nanoparticles, polymeric nanocapsules for controlled substance releasing, nanofilms for food packaging, or carbon nanotubes integrated to sensors towards detection of harmful substances. In summary, active nanomaterials are all present in the food chain, leading to quality enhancement and economic advantages. For these reasons, the relevance of nanotechnology in the agricultural and food industries is considered to be unquestionable. However, considerations about human exposure are also subject of discussion. Here, we intend to present and discuss the recent development and significant achievements s in nanotechnology incorporated in food industry, as well as their potential impact in human health and public acceptance of these material in food products.