CIAA nanotechnology introductory statement

CIAA supports the use of nanotechnology which has widespread industrial applications, including uses in food products, processing and packaging. Application of nanotechnologies in the food industry is at an early stage.

As an innovative and progressive industry, the food sector is interested in science-based research and developments, including the application of nanotechnologies. CIAA members, together with other stakeholders and academia, are therefore actively supporting and carrying out research in this area.

There is a need to distinguish between the natural occurrence of nanoparticles (such as in protein, fat or sugar molecules), their presence through conventional processing techniques (such as milling, homogenising and emulsifying) and where particle size has been deliberately engineered to behave differently to its conventional counterpart. We believe there is a need for adequate safety assessment on a case-by-case basis where the use of nanotechnology gives rise to changes in existing products or processes.

The Food for Life Strategic Research Agenda , submitted under the European Technology Platform , indicates potential uses of nanotechnology that could be of interest to the food industry in the years to come.

From 2015 – 2020 we could envisage:

• Tailor-made food products, with a particular focus on the relationship between physical/chemical properties and structure;
• Improving process and packaging design as well as process control;
• Improving understanding of process-structure-property relationships.

CIAA is closely following and is actively involved in national, EU and international activities in nanotechnologies and its implications for the food industry. For example, CIAA monitors the work being carried out by both the Commission’s independent Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on safety evaluations and closing knowledge gaps.