Food applications of nanotechnologies: An overview of opportunities and challenges for developing countries

Like other sectors, recent developments in nanosciences and nanotechnologies are offering lots of new opportunities for innovation to food and related sectors worldwide. Whist developing countries can potentially benefit from these developments, there are also a number of challenges ahead. This concise review provides an account of the main issues emanating from applications of nanotechnologies in food and related sectors with a particular reference to developing countries.

Introduction

Rapid advancements in nanosciences and nanotechnologies in recent years have opened up new prospects for so many industrial and consumer sectors that they have been regarded as the hotbed of a new industrial revolution. The food sector, which is worth over 4 trillion US$ per annum globally (Murray, 2007), is an obvious target of these new developments. Food related applications of nanotechnologies offer a wide range of benefits to the consumer (Table 1). These include a possible reduction in the use of preservatives, salt, fat and surfactants in food products; development of new or improved tastes, textures and mouth sensations through nano-scale processing of foodstuffs. Nano-formulations can also improve the uptake, absorption, and bioavailability of nutrients and supplements in the body compared to bulk equivalents. Nanotechnology-derived polymer composites offer new lightweight but stronger food packaging materials that can keep food products secure during transportation, fresh for longer during storage, and safe from microbial pathogens. Antibacterial nano-coatings on food preparation surfaces can help maintain hygiene during food processing, whereas the use of ‘Smart’ labels can help protect safety and authenticity of food products in the supply chain. However, despite the projected benefits, the current level of nanotechnology applications in food and related sectors is still new emergent in most countries and, despite a steady increase in the number of available products, the vast majority of new developments is still at R&D or near-market stages. Because of the scarcity of information on commercial activity in this area, estimates of the current and future market share of nanotechnology-enabled food products vary widely. The global market value for nano-enabled food and food packaging products was estimated at around US$4 million in 2006, predicted to grow to between US$6 billion by 2012 (Cientifica, 2006) and >US$20 billion by 2010 (Helmut Kaiser Consultancy, 2004). The main focus of new applications so far appears to be on food packaging and health-food products, with only a few known examples in the mainstream food and beverage areas. According to market estimates, food packaging applications make up the largest share of the current and short-term predicted market for nano-enabled products in the food sector. The most promising growth areas identified for the near-future include ‘Active’ and ‘Smart’ packaging, health-foods, and functional food products (Cientifica, 2006).

According to Helmut Kaiser Consultancy (2004) report, the nano-food sector is led by the USA, followed by Japan and China, whereas Asian countries (led by China) could be the biggest future market for nano-food products. It has been suggested that the number of companies undertaking R&D in food related applications could range between 200 and 400 (Cientifica Report, 2006, IFST, 2006), including some major international food and beverage companies. In view of this, more developments in this area can be expected in the coming years, and this may have a major impact on the agricultural and food sectors in the medium to longer terms. Considering the fact that rapid advancements in nanotechnologies have also raised a number of technological, health and safety, regulatory and societal issues, it is likely that the developing countries will lag behind the developed world in terms of technical know-how, production/processing capacity, quality control, safety assessment etc. Developing countries are also likely to face issues such as high costs, effective regulatory controls and certain barriers to international trade etc. It is, however, also possible that, because of the less well developed regulatory and other control systems, developing countries will offer a more open market for nano-food products in the future.