The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network, in conjunction with Leatherhead Food Research, has issued a summary and response to the House of Lords' report on 'Nanotechnologies and Food'.
The report was carried out by the House of Lords' Science and Technology Committee and published on 22 January 2010.
Some of the headlines in the national press concentrated on the secrecy of the food industry in its research, but this was not a major comment in the report.
This is an extensive report of more than 100 pages with a separate witness statement document that can also be accessed online.
The report covers the background to nanoscience and nanotechnologies initially then moves on to discuss current uses in foods and potential applications.
The projected growth in the use of nanotechnology in food and benefits are also covered.
The report deals with issues such as health and safety, regulatory concerns, and engagement with the public.
It lists recommendations and conclusions that stress the need for the government to identify the needs of the food industry and make provision for them in their national strategy.
The report also recommends that the Technology Strategy Board reviews ways to promote technology transfer and help the food industry meet challenging issues such as obesity and waste.
In the areas of health and safety, the recommendations include the call for more research funding on toxicity and safety of nanomaterials as well as the formation of a mandatory confidential database of information on research into nanomaterials for food.
There are recommendations on regulatory coverage that include formal risk assessments for every nanomaterial used in a food product, and that the current common use of 100nm or less for defining nano be replaced with under 1,000nm (I micron).
There is additionally a recommendation to state clearly what proportion of material has to be in the nanoscale to trigger regulatory oversight to be activated.
In the section on effective communication, the report includes recommendations that the government works with the food industry to secure more openness about their research.
On labelling, although the report stresses that the consumer should have access to information on the food they eat, the report does not think that specific labelling on packages is the best approach.
Finally, the report recommends that an open discussion group is established to debate issues surrounding the application of nanotechnologies in the food sector and that this group should contain representation from industry, government, academia as well as consumer groups and NGOs.
Leatherhead Food Research has been at the forefront of a study in applications of nanotechnologies to the food industry with its formation of the industry-based working group, Nanowatch.
It also presented an overview for the House of Lords sub-committee before the sessions and additionally a witness statement and comments.
Some of the issues raised by the report are potentially of serious consequence to the food industry, especially with recommendations on size of nanoparticles and also on proportion of bulk material that would trigger regulation.
Work by Leatherhead on the techniques for measurement of particle size has shown this is not an easy attribute to assess.
More research into this area needs to be funded before legislation is drafted.
Together with the NanoKTN, Leatherhead has recognised the needs of the food industry are not well understood in government strategic research development and that there should be a group that can provide this aspect.
The Nanotechnology in Food Special Interest Group was set up by the NanoKTN and Leatherhead to address these issues before the report was commissioned.
This group could be the basis for the open discussion group called for by the report.
In addition, Leatherhead together with the NanoKTN and Nanocentral are planning workshops that explore the benefits that nanotechnologies can bring to the food industry and how these benefits can be communicated to the consumer.
