How Nanotechnology Can Make Food Work (and Smell) Better

Big changes to food products could be coming by manipulating particles on a very small scale.

By examining the properties of matter so tiny that 100,000 of them equal the thickness of a single sheet of paper, food scientists are hoping to make food healthier and safer, according to the Boston Globe.

Nanotechnology ─ the study of these tiny particles ─ is being used to improve products across a number of industries, including medicine, energy and transportation.

One way to improve foods is to isolatespecificingredients to make them more beneficial to the body. For instance, the Globe cites butyric acid, an ingredient found in milk, which can potentially help prevent cancer in the colon but usually doesn't make it all the way to the colon and smells like baby throw-up. David McClements of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is working to coat the acid so that it will be broken down only when it reaches the organ, and without the bad smell.

As with other new technologies, the safety of the products must be tested, in case the particles are toxic or behave in surprising ways. Mitchell Cheeseman of the FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety told the Globe that safety is measured differently for food than for medicines. With medicines, risks are weighed against their benefits; with food, there are uniform safety standards, regardless of benefits.

通过对极其微小的粒子加以处理，粮食产品可以发生非常明显的变化。

据《波士顿环球报》(Boston Globe)报导，通过研究相当于一页纸厚度10万分之一的微小物质的属性，食品科学家希望使让食品更加健康和安全。

研究这些微小粒子的纳米技术正被广泛用于改进许多行业中的产品，其中包括医药、能源和运输业。

改良食品的方法之一是隔离某一成份，让它们对人体更加有益。比如，《波士顿环球报》提到了丁酸，这是一种在牛奶中发现的成份，它有助于预防结肠癌，但通常不会到达结肠中，而且气味也同婴儿的呕吐物类似。马萨诸塞大学安姆斯特分校的麦克克莱蒙兹(David McClements)正致力于给丁酸加上外膜，使其只有达到结肠后才分解，同时消除那种难闻的气味。

同其它新技术一样，这种食品的安全性也必须经过测试，以免这种微粒有毒或以意想不到的方式产生作用。美国食品和药物管理局(FDA)食品添加剂安全办公室的奇斯曼(Mitchell Cheeseman)向《波士顿环球报》表示，对食品安全性的测量与药品不同。对药品来说，风险要与好处对比进行权衡；而对食品而言，不管有什么样的好处，都有统一的安全标准。
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