Nanotechnology in food

Max Rubner Conference brings experts to Karlsruhe

The Max Rubner Conference on the subject of nanotechnology in food, which took place from October 10 to 12, 2010 in Karlsruhe, was very popular. Even in the first lectures, however, it became clear that there are still many open questions and intensive research efforts are necessary.

What is “nano” actually? For this question alone, very different approaches and definitions emerged from the lectures of the international group of scientists at the Max Rubner Conference. If an aluminum coating that is only 50 nanometers thick is applied to food packaging in a conventional manner, as presented by Prof. Horst-Christian Langowski from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (IVV), it can be discussed whether this layer with a large surface area nevertheless " Nano "is. Since the definition of “nano” based on size (1-100 nanometers) is obviously insufficient, additions such as “consciously manufactured” (“engineered nanoparticle”) and “with new functionality” are often used by scientists. But what does “consciously” mean? A question that was also discussed in the panel discussion that followed the conference without a final result. The need for a uniform, generally accepted definition, on the other hand, was undisputed.

Research on nanotechnology is currently mainly on application issues, such as improving sensory product properties, on nanoscale sensors or in the area of ​​optimizing packaging materials - this was also reflected in the speakers' presentations. A particularly important topic is analytics in the nano range. Even the identification and characterization of nanomaterials poses great challenges for science. Since "nano" can include all groups of substances and the particles thus have a wide variety of chemical and physical properties, it is difficult to find a universal detection and characterization method. Nanoparticles can be of natural as well as synthetic origin, they include substances that occur naturally in human metabolism - or not. Laetitia Pele from the MRC Human Nutrition Research Institute in Cambridge presented ferritin, a protein that stores iron in the body, as examples of nanoparticles of natural origin, and titanium dioxide as man-made nanoparticles that can be used, among other things, for food to brighten The deliberately produced nanoparticles can in turn be supplied in various forms. It is possible, for example, to smuggle nanoparticles of vitamin A into grains of rice, enclosed in a container that is also just nanometers in size, as Prof. Windhab explained. Of course, such a nano-container behaves differently in terms of its physical properties and physiological effects than when the ingredient enters the metabolism unprotected.

In the meantime, this major requirement for analysis is countered by a broad repertoire of methods to actually develop "tailor-made" solutions for the individual nanomaterials, as Dr. Stefan Weigel from the Institute for Food Safety at Wageningen University in the Netherlands (RIKILT). The Max Rubner Institute will also work intensively in this area in the future. Reliable analysis is the first step in monitoring and safeguarding against possible risks in the field of nanotechnology.

Also surprising for many participants of the conference was that of several speakers, including Dr. Anne Theobald from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), stated that there are currently no foods with added nanoparticles on the market in Germany and Europe. However, the situation is somewhat different in non-European countries, such as Asia and America, and in the field of packaging. Overall, the immense costs for product development, technology and safety investigations seem to limit the application of nanomaterials.

All scientists at the conference were able to agree on one statement: in the case of nanomaterials, general statements can hardly be made.

Starting with the analysis, through the technological possibilities of use to risks, it is always necessary to talk about the individual case. Even if this is suggested by the currently increasing advertising for products with “nano” additives on the one hand and the warning about nanoparticles on the other: the group of nanomaterials is decidedly too diverse for general assessments.

Source: Karlsruhe [MRI]