Mark Swainson, from the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing, told FoodQualityNews.com that without solid legislation surrounding the use of nanotechnology in the food sector, commercialisation will be slowed.
This phase will only take off once regulations in the US and European Union (EU) are much clearer, he added.
To date, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only published draft guidance on the use of nanoparticles in processing practices.
“We [the food manufacturing sector] tend to have a great deal of commercialising challenges around new technologies coming on board,” said Swainson.
“There will be a phase of increased commercialisation as the legislative and regulatory ballpark starts to become clearer because there is an awful lot of development going on, on that side of things right now,” he added