Silver nanoparticles and Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment

According to the news item on Nanowerk, Germany’s Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BIR) has advised German manufacturers against adding silver nanoparticles to their products. From the news item,

The manufacturers of consumer products have made use of the antimicrobial properties of silver ions for some time now. Recently, silver particles in the nanorange have likewise been used. For instance, the surfaces in fridges coated with nanosilver are intended to inhibit the growth of germs and nanosilver aims to prevent odour formation in sports socks. It is not possible at the present time to determine in a definitive manner whether nanosilver constitutes a health risk for consumers. “Until we are in a position to reliably rule out potential health risks, we recommend that manufacturers refrain from using nanosilver in consumer products”, says BfR President Professor Dr. Andreas Hensel.

I’m not sure what weight this recommendation has but this is a government agency as per the news item,

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientific institution within the remit of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). It advises the federal government and federal Länder on all aspects of food, chemical and product safety. BfR undertakes research of its own on topics that are closely related to its assessment tasks.

The agency has published a report/opinion and while there is an English-language version of the website I was not able to locate an English-language version of the report/opinion.

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