ISSN 2736-1624
Frontiers of Agriculture and Food Technology Vol. 1 (1), pp. 008-012, January, 2013. © International Scholars Journals
Review
A review of Nano Food Safety
Kashez O. Asiamah
Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa.
E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 24 December, 2012
Abstract
Introduction of genetically modified (GM) foods generated a lot of controversy few years back, now it is the turn of nanofoods. There has been debate on the safety of foods that have been produced directly or indirectly with nanomaterials. Nanoparticles or nanotechnology procedures may be used to make food products, food additives, seeds and food packaging materials to give rise to a new and novel nanofood. While a lot have been written about the benefits of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the food system, there is little research into the toxicological and possible hazard of nanofood. In this paper, the concept of nanotechnology, its diverse applications in the food industry and recent safety issues are considered. The paper concluded that it is necessary to do a thorough risk assessment of nanofoods before they are released to the market.
Key words: Nanotechnology, nanofood, nanoparticles, risk assessment.