Description
FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors
Potential Food Safety Implications
Language: EnglishSubjects for FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the Application of...:
Publication date: 04-2010
130 p. · Paperback
130 p. · Paperback
Description
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The advent of nanotechnology has unleashed enormous prospects for the
development of new products and applications for a wide range of
industrial and consumer sectors. The new technological developments have
already opened up a multibillion dollar industry in recent years, the
global market impact of which is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2015,
with around 2 million workers. While the majority of manufacturing and use
of nanoscale materials occurs in the United States, the European Union,
with its around 30 percent global share of the sector, is not lagging far
behind in this field. Like other sectors, nanotechnology promises to
revolutionize the whole food chain - from production to processing,
storage, and development of innovative materials, products and
applications. Although the potential applications of nanotechnoloy are
wide ranging, the current applications in the food and agricultural
sectors are relatively few, because the science is still newly emergent.
An overview of more than 800 nanotechnology-based consumer products that
are currently available worldwide, suggests that only around 10 percent of
these are foods, beverages and food packaging products. However,
nanotechnology-derived products and applications in these sectors have
been steadily increasing in recent years, and are predicted to grow
rapidly in the future. This is because the new technologies have a great
potential to address many of the industry's current needs. Many countries
have identifed the potential of nanotechnology in the food and agriculture
sectors and are investing significantly in its applications to food
production. However, owing to our limited knowledge of the human health
effects of these applications, these countries recognize the need for
early consideration of the food safety implications of the technology.
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