When it comes to nanotechnology, almost every industry wants a piece of the action. For more than a decade, the electronics industry has been exploiting the tools of nanotechnology for the development of high-performance computer chips. More recently, biotech companies have begun harnessing the same tools for diagnosing and treating disease. Now, the food industry is turning to nanotechnology as it searches for innovations that could bring safer, healthier, and tastier products to the public.
On the food industry’s wish list are low-cost sensors that quickly signal the presence of foodborne pathogens, filters that remove undesired compounds from food and beverages, and nanoparticles that store flavors and nutrients inside food and release them at designated times and places in the body.