Nanotechnology Impacts Food and Food Processing - Madison Commons, USA
Milk that tastes just like cola is not on sale yet. But this and other nano-food products, such as drinks that turn pink or yellow when microwaved, are in development and others already have reached the market and may be on your shelves. Nanotechnology is already impacting food and food processing, from nutrition delivery to intelligent packaging. More than 600 nanofood products now are available on the market worldwide.

The joy of nano - BBC, UK

We listen to our music on nanos, we style our hair with nanos, with the arrival of the Tata Nano people will even be driving nanos, but why are so many products called nano?

This term was used in science in the 20th Century and in 1960 it was recognised when the term nanometre came into use, meaning a billionth of a metre. Crudely put, it could be thought of as about 10 atoms long.

Nanotechnology: The cause, the cure, and the spin-off product - Andrew Maynard for SafeNano, UK
Nanotech is gloriously messy: it could conceivably hold the key to both the cause and the cure of a disease, as well as the basis for a spin-off technology! This “messiness” makes nanotechnology an incredibly exciting an innovating field, liberating scientists and thinkers to cross boundaries and explore new ideas and possibilities. Granted, it muddies the debate over how to develop safe nanotechnologies, and it forces us to make decisions on the best possible science rather than speculation (which is why we so desperately need better risk research strategies).
But at the end of the day, it is this mixing-up of expertise and ideas that will stimulate truly innovative developments that not only lead to new applications, but point the way to using them as safely as possible.

The Challenge of Regulating Nanomaterials - Environmental Science & Technology, USA
Thus far, these tiny yet powerful materials have not caused any known human-health problems or environmental disasters.

However, a growing number of studies are illustrating that many of these substances can have detrimental effects on animals.

Regulating any new technology in its infancy is inherently problematic. A technology is pursued for its rosy promises. Yet, to develop a regulation, the government needs information about potential risks—information that is sorely missing in the beginning stages of any new technology. Nanomaterials are facing this catch-22 because scant data exist on their human-health and environmental risks. While researchers and policy makers are trying to address research inadequacies, many agree that waiting for more data before regulating nanotechnology would be unwise.