Nano-foods: something else to worry about
Reuters

Consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food reaching their tables may soon find something else in their grocery carts to furrow their brows over - nano-foods.

Consumer advocates taking part in a food safety conference in Orlando, Fla., this week said foods produced by using nanotechnology are quietly coming onto the market, and they want U.S. authorities to force manufacturers to identify them.

Companies using nanotechnology say it can enhance the flavour or nutritional effectiveness of food.

U.S. health officials generally prefer not to place warning labels on products unless there are clear reasons for caution or concern. But consumer advocates say uncertainty over health consequences alone is sufficient cause to justify identifying nano-foods.

"Nanotechnology is the new genetic engineering ... and it's moving so fast," Jane Kolodinsky, a consumer economist at the University of Vermont, said at the conference.

New consumer products created through nanotechnology are coming on the market at the rate of three to four per week, according to an advocacy group, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), based on an inventory it has drawn up of 609 known or claimed nano-products.

Nano-products in common use today include lightweight tennis rackets and bicycles, and sunscreens containing clear, nonwhite versions of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

thegazette.canwest.com