In our new report (click here for text-only version) on nano-silver, Friends of the Earth warned that not only could nano-silver’s use in food packaging, cutlery, cosmetics, household appliances, clothing and countless other products pose new toxicity risks, it could also leave us vulnerable to the development of virulent new bacteria.

High-level experts have told a meeting of European and US consumer groups that commercial use of nanomaterials is going "underground", with companies increasingly reluctant to disclose their use of nanotechnology. Euractive.com, an EU policy news service, reports that: "Finding reliable information about products on the European market which currently contain nanomaterials is becoming increasingly difficult, according to high-level experts addressing a meeting of consumer groups from the EU and US."

Our report details the growing threat to public health posed by extreme germ killer nano silver, and exposing the huge number of consumer applications in which it is found. Silver has long been known as a potent antibacterial agent. However its use has exploded in recent years, not only in medical applications, but in a huge number of consumer products, including children’s toys, babies’ bottles, cosmetics, textiles, cleaning agents, chopping boards, refrigerators and dishwashers, available in Australian shops.

In a new story on The 7.30 Report, nanotoxicologist Assoc Professor Paul Wright (director of the Nanoafe Australia research network) and Assoc Professor Tom Faunce (medicine and law at the Australian National University) have backed calls from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) for mandatory labelling and regulation of carbon nanotubes by the end of the year.