Food is Medicine: Next Steps Towards Feeding the World Using Nanotechnology Law

January 7, 2026, Posted By : Ilise Feitshans

Posted in : Legal Practice

O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.

Presented: July 2, 2025 Accepted: August 28, 2025 Published: December 29, 2025

Abstract

Everyone eats, so it is no surprise that food-related trade laws exist at the national, international, and

regional levels worldwide. Nanotechnology has transformed traditional food systems—from crop cultivation

and harvesting to storage, transport, marketing, drug delivery via food, and waste prevention—

since the early 2000s. These combined changes enable humanity to provide clean, safe, and affordable

food for everyone. But first, is it safe? The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) uses strong scientific

methods to create a framework for monitoring nanostructures in food from “Field to fork.” Unfortunately,

nanoscale titanium dioxide (nano TiO2) is deemed safe by one law but may be banned as a

gametotoxin under another, creating crossroads for international trade of nanomaterials in food.

Merging law and science to resolve these conflicting regulations has important implications for global

trade, the food industry, and human health. This article offers a broad view of the legal landscape

surrounding nanomaterials in food, leaving some questions for further consideration. In conclusion, the

time is right to harmonize regulatory approaches.

Keywords: food, law, nanomaterials in food, global health, FDA, EFSA, TiO2

Rationale, Purpose, and Limitations:

This research is driven by the rising commercial

interest in producing components for processed

foods and shipping fresh foods globally

† Presented by the corresponding author, Ilise Feitshans ilf@georgetown.edu at the International Conference

on Recent Advances in Nanomedicine, KIIT University, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India, 21-22

February 2025.