Nanotechnologies and Food Discussion Group

The aim of the group is to help the Agency take forward some of the recommendations from the House of Lords report, and to exchange information between different sectors within the nanotechnologies and food groups.

The group has discussed possible ways to take forward recommendations from the House of Lords report, including intelligence gathering to determine what (if any) research is being carried out by the food industry and ways in which to develop a register of nanotechnology-enabled foods and food contact materials on the UK market.

The group is chaired by the Agency and consists of stakeholders from academia, industry, other government departments and consumer groups, as well as policy leads from the FSA.

The group’s meetings are organised by the Agency.

In February 2009, the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology launched an inquiry into nanotechnologies and food. The Agency and other relevant bodies were called to give evidence. In January 2010, the committee published its report on the inquiry. The report, which can be found under ‘External links’ towards the end of this page, made a total of 32 recommendations and conclusions. The Government response to the committee’s report, which was published on 25 March 2011, can also be found under 'External links'.