Nano Technology: A real revolution

"Most technological advances in the food industry to date have been incremental improvements," says Jeff Barach of the Washington, D.C.-based Food Products Association. "It’s hard to find truly revolutionary technologies." Even in the list we just gave you, most of those processes are outgrowths of familiar technologies.

Edging its way into the industry, however, is one technology that will certainly revolutionize our approach to nutrient delivery.

"The influence of nano technology is coming to food," says Barach. "We will see ingredients encapsulated in nano particles to preserve and make them more active in the environment in which they are consumed. Take antioxidants, for example. The particles currently do not do well the way we add them to products at present."

Nano technology will have a dramatic effect on food color usage and packaging, particularly in the monitoring function. "Indicators will convey to the consumer exactly what is going on within that product," says Barach.

Stay tuned to the November issue of Food Processing for our two-pronged look at nano development.