AU/NZ: Nanotechnology and food
Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Nanotechnology describes a range of technologies used to manipulate materials that are generally less than 100 nanometres (nm) in size in one dimension. One nm is one billionth of a metre.
There is little evidence to suggest nanotechnologies are being used in the food industry on a wide scale, although a lot of research is being undertaken on potential applications. Future applications of nanotechnologies could include nanostructured food products, nanoscale or nano-encapsulated food additives, or food packaging with improved properties. There are, however, certain foods including food additives that naturally contain nanoscale particles.
Nanoscale materials are not new. Food is naturally composed of nanoscale sugars, amino acids, peptides and proteins, many of which form organised, functional nanostructures.