In vivo toxicity studies for different NPs and relevant European legislation
| NP | Testing material | Toxicity | Purpose in food | Reference | European legislation applicable to NMs in food |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ag NPs | Nitrifying bacteria, human colon carcinoma cells, human umbilical vein, endothelial cells | Oxidative stress is associated to decrease viability, inhibition of mitochondrial activity, and initiation of apoptosis | Food contact, packaging materials, and food additives | [96, 97] | Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008: for food additives; Regulation (EU) No 528/2012: biocides |
| TiO2 NPs | Anaerobic gut bacteria, human gastric epithelial cells, human peripheral blood, mononuclear cells | Potentially carcinogenic, DNA damage, oxidative stress, chromatin condensation, and eventual cell death via apoptosis | Food additive (E171 or INS171) | [98–100] | Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008: on food flavourings |
| ZnO NPs | Human pulmonary adenocarcinoma cell, male IRC mice | Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction | Food packaging | [101, 102] | Regulation (EC) No 2283/2015: on novel foods |
| SiO2 NPs | Sprague-Dawley rats, human bronchoalveolar carcinoma cells | Fibrotic lung disease, lung cancer, emphysema and pulmonary tuberculosis, autoimmune disease, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and chronic renal disease | Packaging additive (E551) | [103–105] | Regulation (EC) No 450/2009*: active and intelligent materials intended to come into contact with food |
| NOMs to encapsulate bioactive compounds | Cells obtained from liver tissue of patient with hepatocellular carcinoma | Prevent cell division, hinder cell proliferation, damage DNA and biological systems, eventually lead to cell death; raising concerns over acute and chronic toxicity and related problems | Food encapsulation, food processing, food supplement, active material intended to meet contact to food | [36, 106, 107] | Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006: for fortified foods |
| Fe2O3 | Blood lymphocytes from healthy humans | Generation of ROS, changes in function of vital organs, in cellular morphology, and induction of apoptosis | Food additive, enzyme immobilization | [108] | Regulation (EU) No 10/2011*: on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food; Regulation (EC) No 1332/2008: on food enzyme |
EC: European Commission; EU: European Union; * Although both regulations are not directly applicable to NMs there is a reference to “New technologies that engineer substances in particle sizes that exhibit chemical and physical properties significantly different from those at a larger scale, for example NPs, should be assessed on a case-by-case basis as regards their risk until more information is known about such new technology. Therefore, they should not be covered by the functional barrier concept.”