05.01.08
Environmental groups are warning that advances in the science of nanotechnology are racing ahead of public policy with neither consumers, regulators nor scientists fully aware of the toxicity of so-called nanoparticles.
They are further calling on the European Union to introduce mandatory labeling on all products that contain them and develop strict safety laws on the basis of health and environmental risk assessment.
A new report from Friends of the Earth groups in Brussels, Germany, the U.S. and Australia has identified at least 104 food and agricultural products containing manufactured nanomaterials, or produced using nanotechnology, which are already on sale in the European Union, and warns that consumers are unknowingly ingesting them, despite concerns about the toxicity risks of nanomaterials.
Although not opposed to nanotechnology in principle, the groups are calling on European policy-makers to adopt precautionary legislation to manage potential risks caused by the use of the new materials.
Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at a scale of 100 nanometers or smaller—the levels of atoms and molecules, is already used in the manufacture of products such as nutritional supplements, cling wrap and containers, antibacterial kitchenware, processed meats, chocolate drinks, baby food and chemicals used in agriculture.
—Leigh Phillips, Business Week, 3/24/08
They are further calling on the European Union to introduce mandatory labeling on all products that contain them and develop strict safety laws on the basis of health and environmental risk assessment.
A new report from Friends of the Earth groups in Brussels, Germany, the U.S. and Australia has identified at least 104 food and agricultural products containing manufactured nanomaterials, or produced using nanotechnology, which are already on sale in the European Union, and warns that consumers are unknowingly ingesting them, despite concerns about the toxicity risks of nanomaterials.
Although not opposed to nanotechnology in principle, the groups are calling on European policy-makers to adopt precautionary legislation to manage potential risks caused by the use of the new materials.
Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at a scale of 100 nanometers or smaller—the levels of atoms and molecules, is already used in the manufacture of products such as nutritional supplements, cling wrap and containers, antibacterial kitchenware, processed meats, chocolate drinks, baby food and chemicals used in agriculture.
—Leigh Phillips, Business Week, 3/24/08