Nanotechnology Essay

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Recommended: Impact of the food industry

Introduction
Rapid advancements in nanosciences and nanotechnologies in recent years have opened up new prospects for so many industrial and consumer sectors that they have been regarded as the hotbed of a new industrial revolution.
The food sector, which is worth over 4 trillion US$ per annum globally, is an obvious target of these new developments. Food related applications of nanotechnologies offer a wide range of benefits to the consumer. These include a possible reduction in the use of preservatives, salt, fat and surfactants in food products; development of new or improved tastes, textures and mouth sensations through nano-scale processing of foodstuffs. Nano-formulations can also improve the uptake, absorption, and bioavailability of nutrients and supplements in the body compared to bulk equivalents. Nanotechnology derived polymer composites offer new lightweight but stronger food packaging materials that can keep food products secure during transportation, fresh for longer during storage, and safe from microbial pathogens. Antibacterial nano-coatings on food preparation surfaces can help maintain hygiene during food processing, whereas the use of ‘Smart’ labels can help protect safety and authenticity of food products in the supply chain. However, despite the projected benefits, the current level of nanotechnology applications in food and related sectors is still new emergent in most countries and, despite a steady increase in the number of available products, the vast majority of new developments is still at R&D or near-market stages. Because of the scarcity of information on commercial activity in this area, estimates of the current and future market share of nanotechnology- enabled food products vary widely.

Current st...

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... of nanotechnology in the food industry are:
(1) bacteria identification and food-quality monitoring using biosensors
(2) intelligent, active, and smart foodpackaging systems
(3) nanoencapsulation of bioactive food compounds (e.g., micelles, liposomes, nanoemulsion, biopolymeric nanoparticles, and cubosomes).

Table below shows some examples of NMs applied to food, divided into several categories including food, food additives and food packaging, using many different types of materials.

World Health Organization has published the report of a Joint Expert Meeting held in June 2009 on the topic of Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors: Potential Food Safety Implications. This report presents an overview of the wide range of current and projected nanotechnology applications in food and agriculture.This is shown in the figure below:-

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