Nano and food
Dossier: Nanos in food
By the AVICENN team – Last modification January 2023
In 2020, ANSES had identified more than 900 food products in which the presence of nanos is proven (the figure rises to 4,300 products including those where the presence of nanos can only be suspected). These nanos added in foodstuffs are mainly intended to improve the appearance of food (color, texture), to modify the stability or fluidity of products in powder form or to increase the bioavailability of certain nutrients.
At the end a long collective work involving NGOs supported by AVICENN, the additive E171 (containing nanoparticles of titanium dioxide) was banned in food in France in 2020, then in all Europe in 2022.
However, if there is a European regulation for nanomaterials in food, everything is still far from being under control, especially because of insufficient traceability (the r-nano register does not identify finished products containing nanomaterials).
The various product tests carried out by associations or the fraud control department (DGCCRF) reveal the extent of the problem: very few nanos are labeled. Worse, some of them could be widely used and “off the radar” because they are covered by the labeling exemption for “technological adjuvants”.
Who benefits from nanos in food, what are the risks for our health, what recommendations have been issued, what are the current or future initiatives in the field? Discover our information sheets that we will complete and update as knowledge evolves: your contributions are welcome!
Upcoming Nano Agenda
- Closing meeting of the RENAAME project (RElease of Nano-objets, aggregates and agglomerates from Masks), supported for 3 years by ANSES as part of the Programme National de Recherche Environnement-Santé-Travail (PNR-EST): evaluation of aerosol-phase release of nanomaterials present in masks, under realistic conditions of use.
- The approach is based on a progressive three-stage process designed to :
- identify the presence of NOAA (TiO₂ and/or silver) in materials,
- study their mobility on a material scale,
- characterize their potential release into the aerosol phase.
- Organizers: LNE, INRS & Sciensano
- On the agenda: presentation of the project’s results and deliverables, examination of the prospects for commercialization and possible extensions.
- Website: www.lne.fr/fr/evenements/2026/reunion-fin-projet-renaame
- International conference on metallic nano-objects for experts working in the interdisciplinary field of metallic nanoparticles, with a particular emphasis on nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, plasmonics, optics and photonics, catalysis, biomedicine, electronics, and nanoparticle recycling
- Organizers / Partners: CNRS, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux INP, ICMCB, CRPP, CBMN, ISM
- Website: https://mno2026.sciencesconf.org
- Seminar presenting the Seirich system for chemical risk assessment, with a focus on the specificities of nanomaterials.
- Organizers: Association NanoMesureFrance
- Speakers: Florian Marc (INRS)
- Website: www.eventbrite.fr/e/billets-nanomesurefrance-webinar-1984136502691
Any questions or comments? This information sheet compiled by AVICENN is intended to be completed and updated. Please feel free to contribute.
This file was originally created in May 2013.