Concerns about potentially unsafe nanoparticles migrating into food via packaging have been overstated, according to packaging experts.
Responding to fears raised by the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) about the 'inadvertent introduction' of microscopic particles into food via packaging, Professor Andrew Mills at the University of Strathclyde's pure and applied chemistry department, said: “Nanoparticles of the pigment titanium dioxide will increasingly be used in food packaging for things like time temperature indicators because they are sensitive to oxygen, but I can't see how they would taint foods.”
He said: “There should be rigorous testing, but if you put the particles between layers of polymers, contamination would be extremely unlikely. We have a licence deal with a label manufacturer that works with food packaging companies that is trialling this technology as we speak.”
Dr Graham Moore, head of strategic consultancy at Pira, said: “If the nanoparticles are sealed in a cohesive film in a beer bottle, I really don't think there is an issue.”
However, it was fair to say that nanotechnology had “caught legislators on the hop”, he added. “The law has not kept up with developments in this technology.”
While titanium dioxide was food-approved, said the IFST, available research only covered normal-size, macroparticles of the pigment, and did “not specifically address the potential toxicity of nanoparticles” of the substance.
A new consumer database of products currently on the market using nanoparticles includes 14 food and drink lines. These include cholesterol-lowering Canola Active Oil from Shemen Industries, Nanoceuticals Slim Shake Chocolate from RBC Life Sciences and Choco'la Chocolate Gum from O'lala Foods.
Leading manufacturers including Nestle and Kraft are also pumping large amounts of research into creating new packaging and food materials using nanotechnology.