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Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee seeks information on ‘Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors’
Published: Tuesday 2 December 2008
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are to hold a joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on the Application of Nanotechnologies in the Food and Agriculture Sectors: Potential Food Safety Implications (the meeting is to be held on 1-5 June 2009, at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy). The Scope and Objectives of the Meeting include:
- The application of nanotechnologies in all aspects of the primary production of foods of plant and animal origin;
- The application of nanotechnologies in food processing, packaging and distribution; and
- The use of nano-diagnostic tools1 for detection and monitoring in food and agriculture production.
- to take stock of actual and anticipated applications of nanotechnologies in the food and agriculture sectors;
- to identify potential food safety implications associated with actual and anticipated applications of nanotechnologies in the food and agriculture sectors;
- to determine the need for additional tools or metrics and to identify any data requirements and research gaps;
- to consider the application of current risk assessment methodologies to evaluate the safety of nanomaterials used in the food chain;
- to identify priority areas for which scientific advice should be requested from FAO/WHO in accordance with their Joint framework for the provision of scientific advice; and
- to advise on ways and means of fostering transparent and trustful dialogue among all stakeholders.
Further specifics on the Call for Experts (follow this link for more information):
Experts should fulfil a set of both General and Specific Requirements; interested applicants should submit their curriculum vitae including a detailed description of their education, work experience and a list of peer reviewed publications relevant to the topics indicated in the list of requirements.
FAO/WHO is seeking submissions of published and unpublished technical information to ensure that all relevant information on the use of nanotechnologies in food and agriculture and the potential risks will be considered. The information will form part of the database that will be examined to assure a comprehensive understanding of the technologies, their applications and the potential risks in order to facilitate the development of appropriate and effective recommendations.
- Current use of nanotechnologies in livestock and crop production, food processing, food packaging and food distribution, including descriptions of the technologies, potential health risks to consumer, benefits to the various stakeholder groups (including the general public),
- On-going research and development on nanotechnologies for use in the food and agriculture sectors that are expected to reach market within the next 10 years including descriptions of the technologies, potential risks, benefits to the various stakeholder groups (including the general public;
- Investigations of nanoparticle migration from food contact materials into foods;
- Purity, particle size distribution and properties of nanoparticulate substances for use in foods and food contact surfaces;
- Available data for a deeper mechanistic understanding of the behaviour of nanoparticles in the body (e.g. toxicokinetics, possible mechanisms of toxicity),
- Information on nano- forms of vitamins and nutrients in relation to their bio-availability, possible interference with the absorption of other nutrients and consideration of safe-limits;
- Available data on interactions of nanoparticles with biomolecules, nutrients and contaminants, and their relevance to human health;
- Available techniques for detecting, characterizing and measuring nanoparticles in foods and food contact materials;
- Risk assessments carried out on nanomaterials for use in foods and food contact surfaces, including case studies and methodologies for assessing human exposure by oral route),
- Information on possible developmental of standardised protocols for the assessment of toxicological profiles of nanoparticles in vitro and in vivo;
- Information on nano-enabled diagnostic tools in the food (including water) and agriculture sectors;
- Potential needs and priority area for scientific advice in consideration of safety management and regulation at national authorities;
- Reviews, surveys or other information concerning public perceptions of the applications of nanotechnologies to the food and agriculture sectors; and
- Any other relevant information that falls in the scope of the Meeting.
The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) is planning to submit comments to the Call for Information; registered Members of the NIA are entitled to contribute their comments to the consolidated NIA opinion. Interested members should send written comments or indicate their intention to join the Comment Drafting Group in an e-mail to steffi.friedrichs@nanotechia.org no later than Tuesday, 23rd December 2008.
Follow these links to find out more about the joint FAO/WHO activities in nanotechnology, to download the Scope and Objectives of the joint FOA/WHO Expert Meeting, or to download the Call for Experts and Call for Information.