Nanotechnology: Recent and Emerging Applications in Food Industry

Nanotechnology has the potential to impact many aspects of food and agricultural systems. Food security, disease-treatment delivery methods, new tools for molecular and cellular biology, new materials for pathogen detection, and protection of the environment are examples of the important links of nanotechnology to the science and engineering of agriculture and food systems. Strategies to apply nanoscience to the food industry are quite different from these more traditional applications of nanotechnology. Food processing is a multi-technological manufacturing industry involving a wide variety of raw materials, high bio-safety requirements, and well-regulated technological processes. Four major areas in food production may benefit from nanotechnology: development of new functional materials, microscale and nanoscale processing, product development, and methods and instrumentation design for improved food safety and biosecurity.This article provides an overview of potential and up-coming applications of nanotechnology in the area of food science and technology and its advantages over conventional processing techniques.