Nanotechnologies dans la production alimentaire : bénéfices, risques et enjeux réglementaires dans une approche One Health

Abstract

Nanotechnology manipulates matter at a scale below 100 nanometres. In the agro-food sector, its applications span a wide range: food preservation through antimicrobial nanocomposite packaging, detection of chemical and biological contaminants via nanobiosensors, improvement of micronutrient bioavailability through nanoencapsulation, and control of pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7, using silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles. These applications raise genuine safety concerns. Evidence from nanotoxicology shows that nanoparticles cross normally impermeable biological barriers, induce cellular oxidative stress, cause genotoxicity, and accumulate in the food chain through bioaccumulation and biomagnification. From a veterinary perspective, these risks directly concern the health of production animals and, consequently, human consumers. This illustrates the relevance of the One Health approach. The current international regulatory framework, notably EFSA guidance (EU Regulation 2015/2283 on novel foods) and US FDA orientations, remains insufficiently harmonised. The lack of standardised nano-specific risk assessment methods and long-term toxicological data are major gaps. This thesis concludes that the sound integration of food nanotechnologies requires a precautionary approach based on systematic case-by-case evaluation, labelling transparency and interdisciplinary collaboration.