The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report highlighting the need for improved performance information and cost analysis for environmental, health and safety (EHS) research as they relate to nanotechnology. As part of its analysis, GAO reviewed nanotechnology research conducted in 2010 by seven National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) member agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration. According to the 84-page report, EHS research funding grew from $38 million in 2006 to $90 million in 2010. GAO found several problems in 2010, however, that “raise concerns about the quality of EHS funding data reported.” It also discovered, among other things, that although the member agencies most frequently focused on carbon nanotubes, nanosilver and nanoscale titanium dioxide, NNI had not prioritized nanomaterials for EHS research. GAO recommends that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (i) “coordinate development of performance information for NNI EHS research needs and publicly report this…
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A coalition of advocacy organizations has reportedly agreed to dismiss as moot its lawsuit seeking an order requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to its 2006 petition asking the agency to regulate products containing nanomaterials. Information about the lawsuit appears in Issue 422 of this Update. The organizations, including Food and Water Watch and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, apparently indicated that while the agency has rejected some of their key proposals, FDA has formally responded to the petition. FDA has said that it will not regulate nanomaterials as new substances, but will evaluate them based on their effects on foods, drugs and cosmetics. See Capital Press, May 18, 2012.
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) recently issued a report questioning the ability of international governing bodies to adequately address the use of engineered nanoscale materials (ENMs) in food contact and packaging materials. Noting that the Codex Alimentarius Commission, operating under the auspices of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), “has yet to agree on any agri-nanotechnology standards, nor indeed, even to begin work on such standards to protect consumer health,” the IATP report calls for a renewed effort to assess and regulate ENMs as a whole before specific applications are released on the market. To this end, IATP policy analyst Steven Suppan provides an overview of Codex’s regulatory mechanisms in addition to outlining challenges unique to ENMs in food packaging, such as a dearth of scientific data and confusion over the definition of “nanomaterials.” In particular, Suppan urges Codex to avoid…
The European Parliament recently adopted a resolution setting priorities for the Seventh Environmental Action Program (7EAP) and urging the Commission to present a 7EAP proposal “without delay.” Set to expire July 22, 2012, the Sixth EAP (6EAP) aimed to provide “an overarching framework for environment policy” and substantially consolidated environmental regulations, although it failed to fulfill several of its objectives and did not account for new challenges such as those concerning mixed chemicals, pesticides and water. The latest resolution calls for 7EAP to improve implementation, enforcement and integration of the policies laid out in 6EAP and to address additional goals in the following areas: (i) climate change; (ii) sustainability; (iii) biodiversity and forestry; and (iv) environmental quality and human health. In particular, the European Parliament has asked the next program to develop measures to counter “emerging human and animal health threats” as well as “examine the effects of new developments…
Noting that higher crop yields and improved nutrition could be achieved with the application of nanotechnology, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued its most recent report addressing topics that may affect the country’s ability to move nanotech from research laboratories to commercial products. Those topics include federal research and development investments under the National Nanotechnology Initiative; U.S. international competitiveness; environmental, health and safety issues; nanomanufacturing; and public attitudes toward, and understanding of, nanotechnology. According to the report, “widespread uncertainty” continues as to the potential environmental, health and safety implications of nanotechnology, and bringing nanotech products “into safe, reliable, effective, and affordable commercial-scale production in a factory environment may require the development of new and unique technologies, tools, instruments, measurement science, and standards for nanomanufacturing.” CRS also reports that more than 42 percent of Americans had never heard of nanotechnology as of 2007, while 6 percent indicated that they had…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance that, in part, addresses the use of nanotechnology in food processing. Among other matters, “FDA considers food manufacturing processes that involve nanotechnology in the same manner as any other food manufacturing technology,” although the agency also apparently recognizes that “nanotechnology and other emerging technologies may introduce issues that warrant additional or different evaluation during a safety assessment of a food substance. For example, so-called nano engineered food substances can have significantly altered bioavailability and may, therefore, raise new safety issues that have not been seen in their traditionally manufactured counterparts.” Accordingly, FDA states, “When a food substance is manufactured to include a particle size distribution shifted more fully into the nanometer range, safety assessments should be based on data relevant to the nanometer version of the food substance. Where nano engineered food substances have new properties, additional or different testing…
Researchers from Jackson State University in Mississippi have reportedly developed a rapid test for detecting Salmonella on food that uses popcorn-shaped gold nanoparticles. Presented March 27, 2012, at the 243rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the application relies on antibodies attached to gold nanoparticles that then transfer to Salmonella bacteria if present, in the process changing color from pink to blue. “The test for lettuce requires just a tiny sample of lettuce leaf,” explained lead researcher Paresh Ray. “It doesn’t take a trained laboratory technician to perform the test or read the results. If the color changes from pinkish to bluish, that signals the presence of Salmonella. The test is suitable for use in farm fields and in remote areas of the developing world. We believe it may have enormous potential for rapid, on site pathogen detection to avoid the distribution of contaminated foods.” Although they…
A recent Food Policy article titled “Implications of nanotechnology growth in food and agriculture in OECD countries” describes how nanomaterials and ingredients are currently being used in foods, food packaging and agriculture in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and outlines potential challenges that could affect the industry’s growth, health and safety issues and public acceptance. In Canada, commercially available nano products include diet and nutritional supplements, energy drinks and food storage containers. Israeli companies are using nanotechnology to produce canola oil and calcium- and vitamin D- fortified milk. South Korean consumers can purchase their food in nano-silver food containers and can also find nanomaterials used in baby bottles, cutting boards, frying pans, salad bowls, water purifiers, and produce cleaners. In the United States, nanoparticles can be found in fortified fruit juice, diet beverages, food storage, health supplements, bottles, and water purifiers. Nano-herbicides, nano-pesticides and “nonporous zeolites to slow…
Part II of the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) Nanotechnology Project, this recently released book comprehensively considers, by product category, how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews nanotechnology-based products. Shook, Hardy & Bacon Agribusiness & Food Safety Attorney James Andreasen was among those practitioners contributing to the work. Among the chapters are “Color Additives,” “Food Additives and Related Substances,” “Dietary Supplements,” “Food and Animal Feed Products,” and “Biological Products.” They address “how FDA can, and to some extent, has, regulated nanomaterials in products falling under its multiple areas of responsibility,” and (i) identify “products that already feature nanomaterials”; (ii) review “FDA’s regulatory program for the specific product category (such as particular pre-market and post-market controls)”; and (iii) discuss “how that program might apply to nanomaterials.”
According to a news source, the United States and Canada have begun to develop a coordinated model framework to regulate nanomaterials. A draft plan, unveiled during a January 2012 meeting of the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council involving officials with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Environment Canada, identifies the following as the “deliverable outcome”: “Share information and develop common approaches, to the extent possible, on foundational regulatory elements, including criteria for determining characteristics of concern/no concern, information gathering, approaches to risk assessment and management, etc. Develop joint initiatives to align regulatory approaches in specific areas such that consistency exists for consumers and industry in Canada and the US.” Industry officials attending the meeting were reportedly cautiously optimistic about the initiative. They urged government representatives to build on the work already done by European regulators to maintain some consistency, but also suggested that American officials move away from…
