Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
8752915 
Journal Article 
Nanoparticles in food packaging: Biodegradability and potential migration to food-A review 
Souza, VGL; Fernando, AL 
2016 
Food Packaging and Shelf Life
ISSN: 2214-2894 
8 
63-70 
English 
WOS:000382360700009 
Lately, the appliance of nanotechnology into the food industry has been focused in the development of packaging material. Nanoparticles (NPs) are used as reinforcements to improve barrier and mechanical properties of polymers, resulting in packages with less demand for raw materials (more sustainable) and when are applied into biopolymers makes its production and use feasible, contributing to reduce the dependence on petroleum based materials. However, being a novel technology, there are gaps on its knowledge that pose questions to the scientific community, especially regarding its toxicity and ecotoxicity. Theoretically, the NPs have potential to migrate to the foodstuff packaged, but migration assays and risk assessment are still not conclusive. This critical review shows an overview of the actual state of the art demonstrating the urgent demand for research on this field. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. 
Biopolymers; Ecotoxicity; Food safety; Nanoparticles; Nanotoxicology; Risk assessment