In fact, researchers have been changing the nanostructure of food for years, for example by adding emulsifiers to improve the texture of ice cream. It’s the emergence of technologies such as atomic force microscopy that has changed the game by finally opening a window on the nanoworld.

…

“We know that the food industry is looking at encapsulating certain ingredients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins or minerals,” says Frans Kampers, who researches bionanotechnologies at Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. The idea is an attractive one. Oil-soluble nutrients can be poorly absorbed in the watery environment of the gut, with a proportion passing right through the body. Nano-encapsulation converts them to a dispersed form that is more easily taken up. Wrapping them in nano packages also extends their shelf life, masks any unpleasant tastes and, in the case of nano-emulsions, makes them invisible to the naked eye so that they don’t affect a food’s appearance.

…

In November 2008, the European Food Safety Authority rejected a request to approve nanosilver products for sale in the European Union, because of a lack of safety data. It is “persistent” nanoparticles like silver and silica, which don’t break down in the body, that are causing the greatest safety concerns among food researchers, says Morris.

Micrometre-sized persistent particles of silica and titanium dioxide have been used as food additives for decades, for example as whiteners in products like chewing gum, with no apparent ill effects. Make the particles smaller, and things are different: some nanoparticles seem able to penetrate the cells lining the gut, and so have the potential to travel around the body. Last December, a team led by Roel Schins at the Environmental Health Research Institute (IUF) in Düsseldorf, Germany, published research suggesting that some nanoparticles, including silica and titanium dioxide, can induce DNA damage in human intestinal cells

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