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UK Environment Secretary identifies ‘real potential’ of nanotechnology to defeat the world’s food crisis
'Nanotechnology has "real potential" to help feed a fast-growing world,’ according to UK environment secretary Hilary Benn in an interview with the UK newspaper, The Observer. ‘[It’s a] scientific revolution that could give packaged foods a dramatically longer shelf life and boost crop growth,’ opens the article entitled ‘New science could defeat food crises’ .
‘Nanotechnology has clear potential,’ Benn told the Observer; he quoted from a study conducted by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP), which ‘...’.
According to the interview, ‘the government was continuing to fund research to answer questions about its environmental or health impact.’ ‘Subject to people being assured of those things, then they will weigh up the benefits of the technology and take their decisions about whether to use it,’ noted Benn. ‘As with all of these technologies, the government's job is to make sure we fully understand the consequences of using it, but clearly it has got real potential. We ought to be looking at all the means at our disposal.’ Benn added that ‘the [UK] government was pushing for a wider regulatory regime to be established across the EU.’
The Observer article explains that ‘[t]he science is still in its infancy, but materials currently in development include fizzy-drink bottles made with nanoparticles embedded in the lining to stop carbon dioxide leaking out of the bottle, and storage bins with microscopic particles of silver, which has antibacterial properties, designed to kill any bacteria growing in the contents. Other potential applications include nanoparticles designed to absorb the vitamins in produce such as orange juice, where the vitamin C levels deteriorate quickly after the fruit has been juiced, and release them only when the liquid is drunk.’
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The UK’s House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee has launched an inquiry into the use of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials in the food sector. (3rd February 2009)
The UK Government Department for Innovation, University and Skills (DIUS), which chairs the UK’s cross-Government group responsible for nanotechnologies, has published a ‘Renewed Ministerial Commitment on Nanotechnologies’. (30th January 2009)
The Nanotechnology Industries Association has received the first go-ahead on its proposed interdisciplinary research project entitled ‘PROSPEcT: Ecotoxicology Test Protocols for Representative Nanomaterials in Support of the OECD Sponsorship Programme’ ; the project represents a 50:50 public-private-partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to support the OECD Sponsorship Programme on Manufactured Nanomaterials. (3rd July 2008)