Are nanofoods a no-no?

Ever see the movie Fantastic Voyage? Really, really miniaturized people floating around in the blood stream, sent on a mission to save some poohbah’s life. Great for a science fiction plot. Now it’s great for reality too, in the form of nanotechnology. Really, really tiny particles on an atomic and/or molecular scale are manufactured to create many new materials or add desired properties to already existing ones.

Applicable to a myriad of uses, from medicine to electronic, nanotechnology is alive and well in the food and agriculture sectors. Behold — nanofoods — little tiny (engineered) things added to what we eat. In the food industry, nanotechnology crops up in a number of areas. Nanotech is used in packaging materials, farming practices, food processing, and also in the foods themselves.

The use of nanotechnology in food packaging is already commonplace. Nanotech in this instance can include engineered materials added to packaging to provide a feature such as preventing oxygen from spoiling food. (Ever wonder why that celery in your frig stays crisp for months?)

McDonald’s uses hamburger containers and other cardboard products that incorporate nanomaterials, including starch-based glues sourced from renewable resources that replace petroleum-based glues. In the burger containers, nanomaterials are being used to replace polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), which bond graphics to their cardboard containers. Other packaging that uses nanotechnology include plastic beer bottles made with nanocomposite materials — plastic films that increase shelf life and antimicrobial and antifungal packaging.

In the works are packaging that reflects heat to keep ice cream frozen in, say, a hot car; self-healing packaging that repairs itself if perforated, and packaging that can change its properties under certain conditions — for example, milk cartons that change color if the milk has spoiled.

Nanotechnology can shape agricultural practices, as well. In the works there are fields embedded with nanosensors that can measure everything from nutrient levels and water content to the presence of disease, fungi, or other pests. These sensors could also be engineered to interact with nanoparticles or nanocapsules to deliver precisely measured quantities of pesticides and/or fertilizers. Nanotech is also used by livestock farmers. Animals are tracked, identified, and monitored though embedded nanochips. The same type of chips are being developed to deliver measured quantities of vaccines and treatments for disease.

Nanotechnology is (surprise, surprise) already in use by food processors. Nanoparticles and nanocapsules are added to foodstuffs to increase shelf life, alter their properties, enhance nutritional value, and change taste. Take, for example, good old bread. Tuna oil (a source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are said to be of help in preventing heart disease) in the form of nanocapsules is added to some types of bread. No fishy flavor though. The capsules break and release their oil in the stomach so there is no unpleasant taste.

Nanotechnology is also in use as enhanced emulsifiers that give low-fat ice creams the flavor and texture of full-fat ice creams. Kraft Foods has plans for a nanotechnology-enabled drink in which everyone buys the same drink but then can decide its color, flavor, and texture.

As Mork from would say, “Nano, nano.”