Regulatory Responses to Safe Use of Nano-Scale Substance in Food: The ASEAN Experience

Regulation for novel food by the food safety authority correlates with the perception of the actors in the supply chain, particularly the consumers. Increasing adoption of nano-scale ingredients is estimated to capture more than 24% of the overall market size and consumption trends. There is high dependency on imported foods among the ASEAN countries which raise concern whether there is sufficient and efficient regulatory norms on marketing authorization of novel foods. While foods produced at nano-scale level can improve nutrition and be cost-effective; unclear regulatory path of safety and risk assessment may be counter-productive to the consumption trends. Novel food poses challenges and raises important questions, including: (1) How will regulators assess the safety of nano-food for public consumption? and (2) What are the additional considerations should be taken into account in terms of trade law? This chapter examines the role of law in controlling and creating spaces for the use of nano-materials in food as regulatory object. It begins in section 2 by providing context around the growth of nanotechnologies in the food sector by considering the use of nano-scale substances as ingredients in food and potential risk it may pose to human health. Section 3 elaborates the safety concept of food and food ingredients and specific concerns relevant to the condition of use of nano-scale substance in food. Section 4 analyses the regulatory responses to nano-food being part of novel foods regulations in ASEAN countries, by deliberating on the regulatory definitions of novel foods, the market authorization procedures including the conditions of use, labeling requirements and pre-market authorization requirements. It concludes that the legal normative yardstick set out by food regulations in ASEAN is enough to capture nano-food and nano-scale substance in food based on the wide product categories under the food laws, and for any newly developed food materials on the basis of its intended use. Hence, any nano-safety related measure the countries undertake must be based on the outcome of appropriate risk assessment and must not be discriminatory against free trade with other countries.