Food manufacturers fear public backlash

Research into nanotechnologies

You've all heard about genetically modified (GM) food and the backlash that received, but have you hear of the research that's currently being conducted into nanotechnologies?

A new report has found that food manufacturers are being secretive over their research as they fear they'll receive the same backlash that happened over GM food.

Yet, as the new report points out, the reluctance by manufacturers to disclose their work was likely to create a public backlash to the additives, the British paper The Telegraph reports.

Now the influential Science and Technology Committee want an official register set up by the Food Standards Agency to keep a check on research into the additives.

The UK's House of Lords Science and Technology Committee said that an open approach to communicating the benefits of nanotechnology was key to building public trust, Just-Food stated.

According to the committee, the Government and research councils must ensure that research into nanotechnology is supported and adequately funded.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, the science of tiny particles, so small 300 million would fit on a pinhead, is a rapidly developing branch of research with benefits from everything from engineering to medicine.

For food, it is believed that the tiny additives could be used to reduce salt and fat contents, increase flavours and nutritional values, and prolong shelf lives.

They could also be used to develop so-called "smart packaging" that could detect exactly when food has gone off.

The report said that at the moment there is not believed to be any foods on sale in Britain containing artificial nanoparticles, yet around 84 are said to exist around the world, said the report.

Despite the fact there is currently none on the shelves in the UK, it's thought that within 10 years they could be a feature.

While nanotechnology is already widely employed - in applications ranging from odour-free socks to novel cancer therapeutic methods - they have long been regarded as a subject requiring further study to ensure their safety, the BBC state.

Food Standards Agency

Lord Krebs, the scientist and former head of the Food Standards Agency, said that the report found no evidence of danger from the particles but that their "novel properties may result in novel risks."

"We didn't find any evidence that they was a danger to consumers when used in the future but there were very significant gaps in our knowledge," he said.

He said that the food industry had been reluctant to co-operate with the Nanotechnologies and Food report.

"The food industry was reluctant to say what kind of research was going on to develop nanotechnologies in food," he said.

"It got its fingers burned with GM. Their attitude is to keep a very low profile. We think this a wrong approach. We think being secretive will make more of a backlash."

Related News:

Should packaging be labelled for GM ingredients?

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