Nanotechnology and cloning in novel food production

Nanotechnology and animal cloning are emerging technologies that can affect the food chain and may therefore fall under the novel food regulation, requiring safety assessments and authorisation before they can be placed on the market.

What is nanotechnology?

Engineered nanotechnology is a developing science. It is the manufacture and use of materials and structures in very small sizes, measured using the 'nanometre scale'. A nanometre is one-millionth of a millimetre. Because very small particles can behave differently from larger forms of the same substance, applications in the food and feed chain involving engineered nanomaterials are subject to specific risk assessments.

Nanotechnology in food and feed

Nanomaterials can be used in foods, food supplements, food contact materials and animal feed. Their purpose can vary. For example, they can be used to change texture, improve stability and shelf-life, or deliver nutrients.

Regulation of nanotechnology in food production

Under the EU novel food regulation, any food that consists of, contains, or uses engineered nanomaterials as an ingredient is treated as a novel food and must be authorised and safety-tested before it can be marketed in the Northern Ireland and European Union. Great Britain follows a similar, but separate, regulated food framework. Read more on novel food regulation.

If you intend to use nanotechnology in a food, feed or food contact material, you must check if the material is already authorised for use and if the nanoform is covered. Where a nanoform is not already authorised, you will need to apply for novel food authorisation, providing detailed characterisation of the nanomaterial and data on exposure, toxicology and any nanospecific hazards in line with relevant safety guidance.

Nanomaterials can also be regulated under other regimes without always coming through the novel food route, depending on how they are used. These regimes could be related to:

• Labelling - If you use an engineered nanomaterial as an ingredient, you must show ‘nano’ in brackets after its name in the ingredients list.
• Additives - If you significantly change an approved food additive by using nanotechnology or altering particle size, it is treated as a new additive and must be re‑evaluated before use.
• Food contact materials, including plastics – If you use substances in nanoform in food contact materials, they must be safety tested and authorised to ensure harmful chemicals do not migrate into food.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for the risk assessment of the use of nanomaterials in food and feed placed in the EU and Northern Ireland market. The Food Standards Agency and other UK authorities control nanomaterials in food and feed in GB.

Under the Windsor Framework, certain GB‑approved foods (which could include products using nanomaterials) can move from GB to NI via the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS), subject to scheme conditions.

Cloning in food and feed

Cloning is a reproductive technology used to produce genetically identical copies of animals. Scientific reviews have found no evidence that food from healthy animal clones is different from food from healthy conventionally bred animals, but there are ongoing concerns about the health and welfare of the cloned animals.

Regulation of cloning in food production

Cloning of farm animals is not currently used for commercial food production in the EU. If a business wanted to sell food from cloned animals on the EU market in future, any food from cloned animals would be treated as a novel food and could not be sold in the EU or Northern Ireland unless it had been safety assessed and authorised.

Cloning of farm animals is also subject to wider rules on food hygiene and on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, which businesses would need to comply with if commercial cloning were ever introduced. EU institutions have debated stricter rules on cloning for many years, and a range of stakeholders still call for a broad ban on cloning for farming and on imports of food from cloned animals and their descendants.

This is an area businesses should keep under review, particularly livestock breeders, meat and dairy producers, importers of live animals or genetic material, and retailers sourcing animal products from outside the EU/UK.

Plant cloning 

Plant cloning is a long established, routine technique in agriculture and horticulture, and it is not regulated in the same way as animal cloning. The underlying legal framework is complex, but plant cloning is generally accepted and managed under standard plant health, seeds/propagating material and (where relevant) genetically modified organisms or plant‑breeding rules rather than any special cloning law.