Nanotechnology and the Food Market

Food occupies a very special place in the public consciousness and the high profile food crises of the 1990s, along with the controversy that accompanied the arrival of GMOs have seriously dented consumer confidence in the safety and integrity of the European food supply chain. The discussion presented in this book centres on nanotechnology in the EU regulatory context with key issues of safety and choice being viewed, primarily, from the perspective of the end consumer. Building upon and developing the now familiar arguments aired in relation to the use of biotechnologies in agriculture and food production from the mid-1990s onwards, it provides an informative and critical account of the emergent agri-food nanotechnology industry and the law governing this specific sector. Readers seeking a better understanding of how the free-trade oriented EU system negotiates differing (and potentially conflicting) interests within the arena of the Internal Market will find it invaluable, as will those with a particular interest in the EU's approach to market governance in the face of scientific uncertainty.