Nanoparticles appeared in the 2000s. As their name suggests, these particles have a nanometric dimension, in other words of the order of a billionth of a meter, which makes them capable of penetrating inside our cells. and accumulate in certain organs, with possible health effects. For this reason, for 10 years, any food or cosmetic product containing nanoparticles must be labeled as such, the mention the reference “[nano]» preceding the name of the ingredient to appear clearly. A report by AVICENN, the association for monitoring and civic information on the challenges of nanosciences and nanotechnologies, published Thursday, December 15, 2022, reveals the presence of nanoparticles of silver, iron, copper, titanium dioxide or silica in no less than 20 out of 23 everyday products that were supposed to contain it !
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Invisible nanos everywhere
Hair color spray, highlighting powder and “pearlescent” make-up risk causing us to inhale titanium dioxide nanoparticles ; a lip balm and a simple medicated tablet make us ingest it without knowing it… There are also undeclared silver nanoparticles in menstrual panties, toothbrushes or bactericidal masks. And even the cosmetic labels that we thought were a little protective (like “COSMOS Natural” for example), supposed to guarantee the absence of nanos, would not be so that much: a Labello stick thus labeled turned out, according to still the AVICENN report, contain iron oxide nanoparticles and titanium dioxide “probably derived from the colorants indicated on the product packaging (CI77891 and CI77492) »… And there is even worse on the food side, on the side of salts, cocoa, spices, infant formula powder, and even raw ham: we ingest, always without our knowledge, silica nanoparticles because they are part of the composition of a food additive (E551). The association, extrapolating from one of the products tested, estimates that a single bowl of soup might contain up to 40mg of silica, or billions of nanoparticles!
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Regulatory vagueness
Is it the fault of unscrupulous manufacturers? Not always. Some, the report says, were surprised by the report’s results, the nanoparticles seeming to come from their raw materials, which they say they ignore that they contain nanos. That is. Yet other manufacturers, by their radio silence, suggest some dubious practices, such as the undeclared use of nanoparticles. Between the two, there are finally those who take advantage of the legislation, which is a little vague. To go back to the food additive E551, it is exempt from nano labeling… for the simple reason that it no longer has to appear on the list of ingredients! Any additive entering into the composition of another additive (and E551 precisely enters into the composition of nitrites in ham!) or being present at less than 1% of the weight of the product (which is most of the time the case in the products considered where it plays, alone, the role of an anti-caking agent…). For lack of being labeled as an additive, the E551 is not likely to be labeled for the nanos that compose it!
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The nanos being anyway very difficult to detect, manufacturers do not seem very keen to inform consumers that we are. Especially since they do not risk much other than a simple reminder of the law if they do not comply. Legislation is also so protective of their interests that it is impossible to know the names of the companies that use nanos (even though they must theoretically imperatively register in the register r-nano), because of “industrial and commercial secrecy”. It is likewise impossible (for the sake of not harming competition between manufacturers!) to know precisely which products have been tested by the DGCCRF (fraud department), which would usefully identify which ones do not contain any. Nanos are everywhere now, even where they supposedly aren’t, but so far the authorities don’t seem too concerned regarding the problem…
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Source : report by the AVICENN association “In search of [nanos] in everyday products”, December 2022
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