Advanced Functional Approaches of Nanotechnology in Food and Nutrition

The food sector has always been a vital source of livelihood, comprising agriculture, harvesting, processing, and transportation. The food industries provide enormous scope and possibilities for research, development, and new technologies. One great invention that has revolutionized the food sector is food nanotechnology. The basic principle of food nanotechnology is that it is based on the nanometer scale. The nanomaterials are composed of more than one external dimension, with an internal structure ranging between 1–100 nanometers (nm). The aim of food nanotechnology is then to deal at the atomic and molecular level to create original and beneficial food products. Food nanotechnology offers great solutions to the food industry from the first steps of manufacturing to the end of the packaging process and storage. Unlike their bigger counterparts on the macroscale, the nanoscale form has many exceptional assets, such as enhanced diffusivity and solubility. These unique properties are appropriate for applications in the sectors of food packaging, food fraud, food encapsulation, and nutraceuticals. Certain nanomaterials might be hazardous, which are not processed in the body. Since they are so tiny, certain nanoparticles (NPs) can exert deleterious effects, and could easily enter cells and organs through the circulatory system. Also, their real impacts on the environment remain unclear and they are considered an overly expensive unnatural source of nutrients. Due to the unique properties of nanomaterials, nanotechnology represents a huge opportunity for great innovations and research in the food sector, with colossal speed to overcome current contradictions and limitations encountered in the food sector.