New Report Urges Food Industry to Assess Nanomaterial Risks

The nonprofit group As You Sow has issued a report calling on the food industry to evaluate the safety of nanomaterials used in food packaging. Titled “Sourcing Framework for Food and Food Packaging Products Containing Nanomaterials,” the report claims that better communication is needed between food companies and their suppliers to “protect themselves from financial and reputation risk.”

According to the report, toxicity risks related to “nanofoods, nano food packaging and nano agrochemicals” are “very poorly understood” because of lack of federal regulations. To stay ahead of regulations, the report calls on the food industry to (i) “[f]ind out if your company has nanomaterials in its products and supply chain, (ii) “[p]ut a policy in place that suppliers must disclose if their products contain or were manufactured with the use of nanomaterials,” (iii) require “that their supply chain disclose any use of nanomaterials and all related safety testing data and safety management procedures,” and (iv) “clearly understand what the nanomaterial is, its use, and its effects.”