Tag Archives: food additives

Australia and New Zealand weigh in on nanotechnology and food

Two reports from FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) on nanotechnology and food were released in early June 2016 according to a June 2, 2016 Science Media Centre New Zealand press release,

Nanomaterials currently used in food additives and packaging do not appear to pose a health risk but we will need to keep an eye on newer materials in the pipeline, reports Trans-tasman food regulator.

FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) has released two reports reviewing the evidence for the safety of nanotechnologies in food packaging and food additives.

Certain compounds, when engineered as particles measuring on the nano scale (one billionth of a meter), can exhibit certain properties; for example, nano-silver particles have antimicrobial properties.

More information can be found on the FSANZ website’s Food and Nanotechnology Report webpage,

In 2015 an expert toxicologist prepared two reports for FSANZ on the potential use of nanotechnologies in existing food additives and food packaging. The reports were then peer reviewed by an expert pharmacologist and toxicologist to evaluate whether the conclusions for each of the reports were supported by the weight of evidence in scientific literature.  The peer review agreed with the overall conclusions of the reports.

Scope of the work 

The consultant was asked to review publically available scientific literature on whether there is reasonable evidence of health risks associated with oral ingestion of titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide and silver in food.  These food additives may contain a proportion of material with at least one dimension in the nanoscale range. 

As an extension of this work, evidence of risks to health from nanomaterials used in food packaging was also investigated.

Key findings

  • The consultant reviewed the evidence on nanoscale silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide and silver in food and found the weight of evidence does not support claims of significant health risks for food grade materials.
  • Titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide are used internationally in a range of food products and have been used safely for decades. They are approved food additives in Australia and New Zealand. Silver is also an approved additive in Australia and New Zealand but is permitted in very few foods.

  • Overall, the findings of the report are consistent with recently published information in the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials Sponsorship Programme for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials toxicological dossiers on silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide and silver.

  • There is no direct evidence to suggest novel nanomaterials are currently being used in food packaging applications in Australia or New Zealand, with most patents found from the United States.

  • From the case studies on the use of nano-clay and nano silver in packaging, the report concludes that there is no evidence from the literature of migration of nano-clay from packaging into food.  The nanoscale nature of nanosilver (whether used in packaging or food) is also not likely to be dangerous to consumer’s health. 

  • An independent peer review agreed with the overall analysis and conclusions of both reports stating that they were appropriately balanced in their reporting and that none of the nanotechnologies described are of health concern.

You can find (1) Potential Health Risks Associated with Nanotechnologies in Existing Food Additives here and (2)  Nanotechnologies in Food Packaging: an Exploratory Appraisal of Safety and Regulation here.

There is also a June 7, 2016 essay about these reports by Ian Rae for The Conversation,

We know that nanoparticles in sunscreens and cosmetics can penetrate the skin, and this raises questions about what they can do in the body. …

For the most part, I found the piece informative and interesting but there is one flaw as can be seen in the sentence I’ve excerpted. In fact, there is very little penetration by nanoparticles found in sunscreens as noted in my Oct. 4, 2012 posting and those findings do appear to have been contradicted in the years since.