Dive Brief:
- USDA has awarded $5.2 million in grants to 11 universities for nanotechnology research that could have applications in food safety and packaging.
- Research applications for nanotechnology vary, but grant recipient Auburn University has "proposed plans (that) include improved pathogen monitoring throughout the food supply chain by creating a user-friendly system that may detect multiple foodborne pathogens simultaneously, accurately, cost effectively and rapidly," Food Business News reported.
- Grants come from the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), a flagship competitive grant program from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
Dive Insight:
NIFA has made a number of contributions to nanotechnology, which the USDA believes is a viable solution to improving food safety as the global population continues to grow. Those research grants have totaled $22 million since AFRI's inception.
Researchers from Texas A&M University have used nanotechnology to develop a micro-film, or thin-coating polymer that can preserve food similar to the way glass can but without being as damaging to the environment as plastics. The polymer could be beneficial in enabling manufacturers to manipulate the gas barrier, toxicity, and other changing properties of a product and create optimized packaging materials for a longer product shelf life.
Nanotechnology could also have negative implications for the food supply. The U.S. government does not currently regulate the use of nanotechnology in food products, according to the Center for Food Safety. Manufacturers may add certain chemicals to foods, packaging, and other "food contact substances" that could have harmful health effects, CFS said.