Scientific basis of nanotechnology, implications for the food sector and future trends

•Scientific basis of nanotechnology and some future trends are briefly illustrated.•Characterization techniques for nanomaterials and food at nanoscale are reviewed.•Open nanometrological issues are discussed.•Safety and risk assessment issues are examined and knowledge gaps highlighted.•An overview of applications of nanotechnology to the food sector is provided.

Nanotechnologies are opening up new horizons in almost all scientific and technological fields. Among these, applications of nanotechnologies are expected to bring large benefits and add value to the food and food-related industries through the whole food chain, from production to processing, safety, packaging, transportation, storage and delivery. Nanotechnology consists in the realization and manipulation of nano-sized matter, the unique properties of which with respect to their bulk counterparts are illustrated and discussed. Then, the main tools and techniques routinely used in nanotechnology for the nanoscale characterization of food matrices as well as for the analytical determination of nanomaterials in food samples are reviewed. Finally, safety and risk assessment issues are discussed and an overview of applications of nanotechnology to the food sector is provided along with a description of the current regulatory framework.