Intelligence gathering on nano research and the controversial proposal to set up a nanotech register for food and packaging products are just some of the major issues to be addressed at the inaugural meeting of the Nanotechnologies and Food Discussion Group.
House of Lords
The group was put together in the wake of a parliamentary report raising concerns that the food and packaging sectors were being too secretive about nanotechnology. In January 2010, the House of Lord concluded that industry risked a public backlash if continued in its reluctance to disclose details of its research into the emerging technology.
The last of 32 recommendations from the upper chamber’s Science and Technology Committee called for the establishment of an “open discussion group…to discuss issues surrounding the application of nanotechnologies in the food sector”.
Some 12 months on, the Food Standards Agency announced that it would be co-ordinating the forum which will aim to boost information exchange on nanotechnology in the food sector.
The group will be chaired by the FSA and consist of 15 stakeholders from academia, industry, other government departments and consumer groups, as well as policy leads from the FSA. Representatives from the Food and Drink Federation, consumer group Which?, as well as Leatherhead Food Research are among those due to attend today’s meeting.
A FSA spokesman said the new group would be likely to meet three or four times a year with a review on its effectiveness carried out after 18 months.
Nanotech register?
As well as laying out the scope of the group, the meeting will also begin to examine the issues of food industry intelligence gathering on nanotech and the formation of a UK register of nanofoods on the market.
In March 2010, the FSA board accepted a recommendation to compile a confidential database of food industry research into nanotechnology. It also accepted a recommendation that the agency create and maintain an accessible list of publicly available food and food packaging products containing nanomaterials that have been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
However, a Government report published soon after warned that forcing food and packaging companies to submit details of nanotechnology research to a national database could trigger an R&D exodus from the UK.
The paper also admitted that new legislation would likely be needed to enforce such a move and appeared to suggest the emphasis of the approach would be through “intelligence gathering and engagement with industry experts” rather than a compulsory database.