Last week we were running our Nano4Food conference in Wageningen, The Netherlands, which is home to Wageningen University, one of the leading research institutions in Europe for both food and agricultural sciences, and over the two days issues were stirring.
We brought together the leading food manufacturers that are working on the nanoscale to improve separation technologies, emulsification technologies, and food safety technologies with consumer interest groups, and leading researchers from around the globe.
There were a number of issues brought to the fore at the event, but some of the top issues were:
How do we avoid another GMO debacle in bringing nanoscale enhancements to food processing?
Do food manufacturers really see nanotechnologies as a distinct and disruptive technology for producing better foods, or just a continuation of the work they have been doing for years (albeit now with the assistance of tools such as atomic force microscopy (AFM)?
One of the key panels at the conference was on entitled International Regulatory Perspectives: How does a technology that is not regulated fit into the highly regulated food industry?
The panel consisted of:
Mr. Rinus Rijk, Programme Manager, Regulatory Affairs TNO, The Netherlands
Mr. Jim Thomas, European Programme Manager, ETC, UK
Dr. Hongda Chen National Program Leader Bioprocessing Engineering United States Department of Agriculture
Prof. Lynn Frewer Chair of Food Safety & Consumer Behaviour Marketing & Consumer Behaviour Group Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Mr. Thomas of the ETC Group, as expected, threw down the gauntlet, warning the food industry assembled that the area of food was not a place to dabble with when it comes to nanotechnology. He also raised ETCs oft-heard call for a temporary moratorium on all nanomaterials.
This certainly raised debate throughout the rest of the conference on bringing nanoscale solutions to food, even raising the idea that the long tradition of characterizing chemicals and materials by “structure” may now need to extend to characterizing them by “form”.
Both food manufacturers and regulatory officials were more than pleased to discuss these issues with NGOs like the ETC Group, hopefully reducing any sense that the future of nanotechnologies in food applications are being foisted upon the consumer from behind the closed doors of board rooms or laboratories.
The debate and discussion will continue. Cientifica will be releasing a white paper on Nanotechnologies and Food in the near future.
In the meantime, you may want to take a look at this issue from Cientifica’s recently released White Paper: Nanotechnology: Risks and Rewards.