Advocacy Groups File Petition on Nanomaterials in Infant Formula

The Center for Food Safety and International Center for Technology Assessment have filed a rulemaking petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the use of nanotechnology in infant formula. “These new materials can have fundamentally different properties from their bulk material counterparts—properties that also create unique human health and environmental risks—which create new oversight challenges for the regulatory agencies charged with protecting public health and the environment,” the petition states. “Of unique concern is the use of engineered nanomaterials in infant formulas sold throughout the United States.”

The actions the groups request include “rigorous screening or safety testing” of infant formula for “nanomaterials or other potentially toxic synthetic ingredients,” a required delineation of all nanoparticle ingredients on the label of an infant formula product, and a declaration that any infant formula currently available that contains nanomaterials is adulterated and misbranded.