Nanotechnology for human food: Advances and perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nanotechnology is an exciting and rapidly emerging field in agriculture and food science. The usage of nanoscale materials in sensing and detection applications is growing quickly, providing alternative methods to conventional techniques for detecting chemical and biological contaminants in foods, beverages, and other products. Nanotechnology has the potential to innovate the agricultural, feed, and food sectors (further stated as agri/feed/food). Applications that are marketed already feature original product packaging with antimicrobial nanoparticles, and agrochemicals and nutrients that have been nano-encapsulated. Many nano-enabled products are presently under research and development, and may be introduced into the industry in the future. As with any other structured product, for market sanctions, applications need to prove the safe use of such new products without posing unwarranted safety risks to the consumer or the environment. In this review, we summarize the uses of nanotechnology related to food and nutraceuticals, while also identifying the outstanding challenges.