For about thirty years, nanomaterials have been increasingly present in food. There are many questions about their identification, the risks they cause to human health and how to regulate them. ANSES recently drew up an inventory to determine the best possible approach.
Present in various industries, nanomaterials (between 1 and 100 nanometers) are also very visible in the food industry. As explained in a detailed ANSES document published on June 9, 2020, nanomaterials are used as additives and in the manufacture of packaging. They are also present as ingredients for nutritional purposes.
In our country, the declaration of substances with nanoparticle status has been mandatory since 2013. ANSES's R-Nano register concerns companies manufacturing, importing and distributing more than 100 grams of substances in nanoparticle state each year. Thus, these same companies must detail the identity of these substances . However, despite this register, problems of identification and traceability remain.
In its document, ANSES says it has identified no less than 37 substances in the scientific literature. present in food. Seven of them have been proven, including calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide and even synthetic amorphous silicas. The other thirty are simply the subject of suspicion such as gold, aluminum, silver or even sodium salts. In addition, this identification took place after the ban on the additive E171 in France, in force since January 1, 2020.
The integration of these nanomaterials would concern no less than 900 food products . The foods most concerned are infant milk (25.6%), confectionery (15.6%) and breakfast cereals (14.8%). We should also mention cereal bars (12.9%), pastries and frozen desserts (10.9%).
The fact is that the risks to human health are unknown. Thus, ANSES indicates that the next step will be to study these same risks. In the meantime, the agency remains on its old positions and advises to limit consumer exposure . In other words, it is a question of avoiding superfluous uses of nanomaterials in food. This is possible by promoting the choice of "safe" products.
ANSES considers that, depending on their properties, substances containing manufactured nanomaterials must be subject to an appropriate approach. Thus, it is a question of selecting several nanomaterials in order to propose a risk assessment methodology . The first results of this study are expected by the beginning of next year.
