Tag: nanotechnology
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Nanomaterial Concerns Prompt Dunkin’ to Remove Titanium Dioxide from Powdered Donuts
Responding to a shareholder resolution filed by As You Sow, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. has reportedly agreed to reformulate its white powdered donuts to avoid the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. In return, the shareholder advocacy group has withdrawn its most recent resolution, which claimed that “recent research on the ingestion of inorganic nanoparticles has…
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German Groups Convene Nanotechnology Symposium in Berlin
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Fraunhofer Nanotechnology and Food Chain Management alliances have organized a two-day public event on March 5-6, 2015, in Berlin to discuss a range of risk-related issues related to the use of nanomaterials. Symposium topics will include (i) European Food Safety Agency guidance on nanomaterials, (ii) the NanoDefine…
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Groups Sue EPA for Alleged Failure to Regulate Novel Nanotechnology Pesticide Products
Several consumer and environmental groups, including the Center for Food Safety and Center for Environmental Health, have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief for EPA’s alleged failure to respond to the groups’ 2008 petition calling for regulation of consumer products containing nano-sized versions of silver. Ctr. for…
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S&P 500 Likely to Face Pressure to Report Nanotech Use and Investments
According to a Sustainable Investments Institute report, corporations globally invest some $9 billion annually in nanotechnology, yet less than one-tenth of S&P 500 companies make this information public to shareholders and other stakeholders and none has discussed purported health, environmental or safety risks in their Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Ks. Shareholders are apparently beginning…
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NNCO to Schedule Nanotech-Related Meetings in Collaboration with EC
The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) is joining with the European Commission over the next year to host meetings for the six U.S.-EU Communities of Research (CORs) that focus on environmental, health and safety concerns related to nanomaterials. CORs were established as a means by which scientists can share protocols and identify research gaps and…
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Federal Nanotechnology Research Focus of Upcoming Webinar
The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office will host a July 31, 2014, webinar to discuss research undertaken by U.S. government National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) agencies. NNI’s six core research areas include nanomaterial measurement infrastructure; human exposure assessment; human health; environment; risk assessment and risk management methods; and informatics and modeling. See Federal Register, July 22, 2014. …
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FDA Finalizes Guidance on Nanotech Use in Food
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its final guidance on the use of nanotechnology in food as well as draft guidance on use of the technology in animal food. Rather than categorically judging nanotech as either safe or harmful, the agency indicated that it will consider specific characteristics of products with nanotech…
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Friends of the Earth Report Targets Nanoparticles in Food
Friends of the Earth has released a May 2014 report titled “Tiny Ingredients Big Risks,” claiming that some popular food products contain unlabeled manufactured nanomaterials. Based on information obtained from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), the report identifies 94 food and beverage products—including almond milk, cereal, soy and…