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IRGC publishes report on ‘Risk Governance of Nanotechnology Applications in Food and Cosmetics’

Published: Thursday 18 December 2008

The International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) published the report ‘Risk Governance of Nanotechnology Applications in Food and Cosmetics’. The report was prepared for IRGC by Antje Grobe, Ortwin Renn and Alexander Jaeger of Dialogik GmbH; it summarises the results of scientific studies and expert interviews on the questions of risk governance for nanotechnology applications in food and cosmetics, including the outcome of the IRGC Workshop on 'Risk Governance of Nanotechnology Applications in Food and Cosmetics', held on the 28th and 29th April 2008 in Geneva.*

The report is organised into nine sections:
  • Section 1 provides an introduction to the report, to the main issues it addresses and to the key questions it raises.
  • Section 2 focuses on the issue of definitions and the need for an internationally harmonised and accepted description of the nature and composition of nanoscaled materials in food and cosmetics.
  • Section 3 examines the various types of nanoscaled materials currently being used in food and cosmetics and highlights the lack of data and remaining uncertainties in this field. It also provides information on the efforts to overcome this information gap, and underlines the responses of major Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to these uncertainties.
  • Section 4 covers some of the issues raised by the absence of detailed information on the use of nanomaterials in food and cosmetics, and the implications of that information gap.
  • Section 5 provides an overview of international risk perception studies for nanotechnologies in general, and specifically of attitudes to applications in food and cosmetics. These assessments are formed on the basis of quantitative surveys, qualitative studies and public participation exercises.
  • Section 6 addresses the current regulatory background, including requirements and future plans for risk assessments. The focus is on the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) and the European Commission’s communications about risk assessment and reporting needs. The regulatory structures of other selected countries are also briefly described.
  • Section 7 takes a closer look at three examples of nanomaterials used in food and cosmetics which are currently at the centre of the public debate. The objective here is to assess the state of knowledge on these materials and to illustrate the scientific basis for evaluating risks associated with these engineered materials.
  • Section 8 describes the voluntary agreements and codes of best practice that are being developed to address the potential risks associated with nanotechnologies. In addition to describing four such initiatives, this section asks whether voluntary proactive agreements could be suitable tools to balance evidence-based and precautionary approaches, address public concerns and anticipate future regulatory requirements.
  • Section 9 provides a summary of the report’s major conclusions and insights.
Follow this link to download the IRGC Report.
 
* Registered NIA Members can download the Meeting Report and participants’ presentations of the IRGC Workshop on 'Risk Governance of Nanotechnology Applications in Food and Cosmetics' from the ‘Members only’-area on the NIA website by following the link to ‘Meeting Reports (from the NIA delegate)’.