Mehrdad Niakousari - Department of Food Science and Technology - College of Agriculture - Shiraz University
Raheleh Ravanfar
Marjan Majdi Nasab

In the absence of mandatory product labeling, public debate or laws to ensure their safety, products created using nanotechnology have entered the food chain. The incorporation of manufactured nanomaterials into foods and beverages, nutritional supplements, food packaging and edible food coatings, fertilizers, pesticides may present a whole new array of risks for the public, workers in the food industry and farmers. Nanoparticles can be more chemically reactive and more bioactive than larger particles. Because of their very small size, nanoparticlescan be used to alter bioavailability of nutrients and bioactives. These novel properties offer many new opportunities for food industry applications, for example as potent nutritional additives, stronger flavorings and colorings, or antibacterial ingredients for food packaging. However these same properties may also result in greater toxicity risks for human health and the environment. Nanotoxicity remains very poorly understood. We really don’t know what levels of nano-exposure we are currently facing or what levels of exposure could harm our health or if there is any safe level of exposure. In the present article, based on various sources of information and publications available on the Net we try to introduce various food and agricultural product which has already touched by this new technology and analyze the health risk issues if there is any

Nanotechnology, agrochemical, food, health risk