Richard Watkins – författare

Recent developments in the field of nanotechnology have paved the way for lots of innovation in a number of industrial and consumer sectors, including food and food packaging. Whilst nanofood sector is a relatively new emergent, it is widely expected to grow rapidly in the future. A number of nano-sized additives and supplements for food and healthfood products, and nanotechnology derived food packaging materials, are already available in some countries, and their number is expected to increase in the coming years. Whilst such developments offer enormous benefits to the food sector, they have also raised a number of issues in relation to consumer safety, environmental impacts, and ethical, policy and regulatory aspects. Despite these rapid developments in nanotechnology applications for the food sector, only a few reports and articles are currently available that provide an account of the new developments and the current size of market for nanotechnology products and applications. These also do not provide a critical evaluation of the broader aspects of the technology, such as issues around safety of the products to consumers and the environment, and adequacy of the existing regulatory controls. This book provides a source of much needed and up-to-date information on the products and applications of nanotechnology for the food sector - for scientists, regulators, and consumers alike. It also gives an independent, balanced, and impartial view of the potential benefits as well as risks that nanotechnology applications may bring to the food sector. Whilst providing an overview of the state-of-the-art and foreseeable applications to highlight opportunities for innovation, the book also discusses areas of uncertainty in relation to public perception of the new technological developments, and potential implications for consumer safety and current regulatory controls. The book also discusses the likely public perceptions of nanotechnologies in the light of past technological developments in the food sector, and how the new technology will possibly be regulated under the existing regulatory frameworks.

Nanotechnologies in Food provides an overview of the products and applications of nanotechnologies in agri-food and related sectors. Following on from the success of the first edition, this new edition has been revised and updated to bring the reader fully up to date on the emerging technological, societal, and policy and regulatory aspects in relation to nanotechnologies in food. This book contains new chapters discussing some of the aspects that have attracted a lot of debate and research in recent years, such as how the regulatory definition of ‘nanomaterial’ is shaping up in Europe and whether it will result in a number of exciting food additives being regarded as nanomaterials, how the new analytical challenges posed by manufactured nanoparticles in food are being addressed and whether the emerging field of nano delivery systems for food ingredients and supplements, made of food materials or other soft/degradable polymers, can raise any consumer safety concerns. The edition concludes by discussing the future trends of the technological developments in the area of nanotechnologies and potential future ‘fusion’ with other fields, such as biotechnology and synthetic biology. This book provides a source of much needed and up-to-date information on the products and applications of nanotechnology for the food sector - for scientists, regulators, and consumers alike. It also gives an independent, balanced, and impartial view of the potential benefits as well as risks that nanotechnology applications may bring to the food sector. Whilst providing an overview of the state-of-the-art and foreseeable applications to highlight opportunities for innovation, the book also discusses areas of uncertainty in relation to public perception of the new technological developments, and potential implications for consumer safety and current regulatory controls. The book also discusses the likely public perceptions of nanotechnologies in the light of past technological developments in the food sector, and how the new technology will possibly be regulated under the existing regulatory frameworks.