Peter Melchett, policy director of the UK’s largest organic certifier the Soil Association, has written in the Daily Mail that public scepticism about nanofood should be heeded, and that nanotechnology should be kept out of food.

In a new report, the Science and Technology Committee of the UK House of Lords criticises industry secrecy surrounding the use and development of nanofoods. It also warns that the health risks of nanofoods remain poorly understood. However the committee rejected calls to recommend mandatory product labelling of nano-ingredients, a moratorium on the use of nano-ingredients in food until new safety assessment is introduced, and assessment of broader social implications of nanotechnology’s use in food and agriculture.