J. Nanopart. Res. 17, 467 (2015)

For an emerging technology to have a constructive impact on society it is important to understand how society perceives its potential benefits and risks. For example, if nanotechnology is going to be used in the food industry, it is essential to appreciate whether potential consumers would accept nanotechnology food products and whether they would be willing to pay for them. Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of studies aimed at exploring these aspects. Emma Giles and colleagues from Teesside University and the University of Newcastle have now performed an extensive review of existing literature on the topic to draw a comprehensive picture of the current situation.

The researchers assessed 32 papers, and 8 main themes were identified, including the benefits and risks of nanotechnology in food, the variations in perception due to social or demographic influences, and the level of information that the public has access to. The assessment suggests that overall the public is more willing to accept the use of nanotechnology in food packaging, rather than in food. However, the use of nanotechnology in food production does not seem to have the type of negative reaction from the public that might have been anticipated in light of the rejection of other food processing technologies such as genetic modification. While these overall conclusions seem clear, the study also reveals a need for more structured and detailed work to explore which benefits of nanotechnology in food the public is aware of, as well as what they understand to be the risks.