Nanotechnology and food

Nanotechnology has the potential to impact many aspects of food and agricultural systems. Food security, disease treatment delivery methods, new tools for molecular and cellular biology, new materials for pathogen detection, and protection of the environment are examples of the important links of nanotechnology to the science and engineering of agriculture and food systems. Examples of nanotechnology as a tool for achieving further advancements in the food industry are as follows:

- Increased security of manufacturing, processing, and shipping of food products through sensors for pathogen and contaminant detection.
- Devices to maintain historical environmental records of a particular product and tracking of individual shipments.
- Systems that provide integration of sensing, localization, reporting, and remote control of food products (smart/intelligent systems) and that can increase efficacy and security of food processing and transportation.
- Encapsulation and delivery systems that carry, protect, and deliver functional food ingredients to their specific site of action.

At the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology there are some research groups involved in this subject. These groups are: MTG and BPE. The MESA+ spin-off companies Medimate, Nanomi and Aquamarijn also work in this area.

Food

Electrochemical acidification of milk by whey desalination

We describe a process configuration for the electrochemical acidification of milk using the desalination function and the acid/base production function of a bipolar membrane process. ... read more