About this Research Topic
Nanotechnology is a fast-developing tool, with applications in virtually all areas of scientific and
technological research. The advantages and impact of the nanotechnology-based systems are very
significant, justifying the growing attention from both academy and industry. It is thus not surprising that
also food & agricultural engineers, scientists and technologists are dedicating their attention to
nanotechnology, in the search for specific advantages in agriculture, foods formulation and processing.
In particular, the applications related with e.g. nanoencapsulation of functional ingredients are seen as
very promising. This is not an easy task, though: on top of the difficulties inherent to nanotechnology
(e.g. finding adequate characterization methods, quantification of products, etc.), there are two other
issues which may dictate the success or failure of the research and development efforts in this area: 1)
ingredients must be either bio-compatible or food-grade and 2) safety of the consumers & environment
must be guaranteed. If these two issues are not conveniently addressed, no industrialist will be available
to even consider using nanotechnological solutions in the products of the company. The production of
and characterization of nanotechnology-based structures, their applications and safety concerns are
therefore hot topics that must be addressed by the scientific community.
technological research. The advantages and impact of the nanotechnology-based systems are very
significant, justifying the growing attention from both academy and industry. It is thus not surprising that
also food & agricultural engineers, scientists and technologists are dedicating their attention to
nanotechnology, in the search for specific advantages in agriculture, foods formulation and processing.
In particular, the applications related with e.g. nanoencapsulation of functional ingredients are seen as
very promising. This is not an easy task, though: on top of the difficulties inherent to nanotechnology
(e.g. finding adequate characterization methods, quantification of products, etc.), there are two other
issues which may dictate the success or failure of the research and development efforts in this area: 1)
ingredients must be either bio-compatible or food-grade and 2) safety of the consumers & environment
must be guaranteed. If these two issues are not conveniently addressed, no industrialist will be available
to even consider using nanotechnological solutions in the products of the company. The production of
and characterization of nanotechnology-based structures, their applications and safety concerns are
therefore hot topics that must be addressed by the scientific community.
Keywords: Nanotechnology, Food Formulation, Food Processing, Nanoencapsulation, Functional Ingredients, Food Safety
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