Nanotechnology is going to change the foods we eat, the medicines we take and the cosmetics we use, but first more regulatory attention needs to be focused on the emerging science of minuscule things.

Nanotechnology has been touted as the next revolution in many industries. It holds out the prospect that scientists can create smart foods, drugs, cosmetics, textiles, packaging and other products.

However it is also a sector for which the topic has become a hot consumer issue due to fears over the unknown consequences of digesting or coming into contact with nano-scale particles designed to behave in specific way.

This is why governments worldwide, including Bermuda?s, need to look closely at the technology before a health scare occurs and public trust in the science evaporates.

For example there is currently no labelling requirement, so consumers may not even be aware they are consuming or using nano-engineered materials.

This week the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is finally getting around to considering how to regulate nanotechnology products on the market so they do not pose a health risk to the public. The FDA held its first major public meeting on the subject yesterday (10 October).

But the genie is already out of the bottle. You will be surprised to know that there are about 300 nanotechnology engineered products already on the US market, unregulated and unnoticed.

Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating matter in dimensions as small as single molecules to create a specific behaviour. The science is based on the principle that at the microscopic level materials behave in very different ways than at the macroscopic.

For example a nano-engineered food or drug could be designed to deliver its benefits to a specific area of the body. A nano-package could be designed to turn a certain colour if the contents go bad, or to let in or remove a specific gas.

Some scientists have even created nano scale gears, engines and machines, made up of molecules and less than the size of a dust mite.

According to a study released this month by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington think-tank, the FDA is so poorly underfunded that at the current level of resources it would not be in a position to properly regulate emerging nanotechnology materials.

The report raises the scary prospect that the lack of regulatory oversight of the technology could result in products begin put on the market that could potentially harm human health and the environment.

The report was written by Michael Taylor, a former FDA deputy commissioner for policy. In his report Taylor has identified about 300 nanotechnology consumer products being sold in the US.

Taylor says important gaps in FDA?s legal authority and resources that hamper its ability to understand and manage nanotechnology?s potential risks.

?The pressures of expanding regulatory responsibilities and the increasing cost of doing business, coupled with the failure of Congress and successive administrations to adequately fund even FDA?s base operations, are a real threat to FDA?s ability to effectively oversee nanotechnology,? Taylor stated in announcing his findings.

The Woodrow Wilson centre called on the FDA should take some immediate steps to gather information about this first wave of nanotechnology products and to set the criteria for determining when a nanoscale material is ?new? for legal, regulatory and safety purposes.

In relation to the food industry the Woodrow Wilson centre calls for more information to be passed on to the regulatory authority, since this is a big consumer issue with the potential for the most harm ? and benefits.

?This is particularly true in the area of cosmetics and dietary supplements, and in the oversight of products after they reach the marketplace,? he said.

Nanotechnology deals with the measurement, manipulation, and manufacture things at an atomic and molecular scale, usually between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. A human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide.

The market opportunity for nanotechnology is substantial. Emerging nanotechnology was incorporated into about $30bn in manufactured goods in 2005-more than double the previous year.

By 2014, Lux Research projects that $2.6 trillion in global manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology, or about 15 per cent of total output.

In the food sector the products include synthetic food colourings, frying oil preservatives and packaging coated with antimicrobial agents.

Cientifica estimates that about $410 million worth of food products are currently on the market, expected to grow to $5.8 billion by 2012.

With that kind of market waiting to be grabbed, we must make sure that first such products are clearly labelled, that companies have done the correct health studies, and that they do not covered up problems.

To check whether you have used one check out the product reference database set up by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, which lists hundreds of products on the market, of which 18 are food and drink products, most of them supplements. Other products include a powdered chocolate drink and an oil made out of canola.

It is available at www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts.

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