Is it safe?
What regulators and official scientific panels have ruled on the nanotechnology we track. We list rulings, reviews, recalls and warnings from those bodies only, never opinions, and we never make our own safety call.
Nanotech Progress summarizes published sources for general information. It does not test, rate or recommend products, treatments or investments, and it is not medical, safety, legal, financial or buying advice. Check the original source before you rely on anything here.
2 on record
In food
- Safety
E171
The EU withdrew titanium dioxide's approval as a food additive (Regulation 2022/63), with six months for food makers to phase it out.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland, 15 July 2022 - Safety
E171
The European Food Safety Authority concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive, because it could not rule out damage to DNA (genotoxicity) after the particles are eaten.
Just Food, 7 May 2021
2 on record
In cosmetics and sunscreen
- Safety
Mineral sunscreen
The European Commission added nano zinc oxide to the list of UV filters allowed in cosmetics, at up to 25%, after the committee's review.
CosmeticsDesign Europe, May 2016 - Safety
Mineral sunscreen
The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety found zinc oxide nanoparticles safe in sunscreens on the skin at up to 25%; the particles did not appear to get through the skin. Sprays were not considered safe, because inhaled particles can inflame the lungs.
European Commission, SCCS opinion summary (2012)
1 on record
In medicine
- Safety
Feraheme
The FDA added a boxed warning, its strongest kind, because serious and sometimes fatal allergic reactions can occur, and changed the instructions for giving it.
US FDA via Drugs.com, 30 Mar 2015
Rulings so far cover 3 of the 34 technologies we track: Feraheme, Mineral sunscreen, E171. A technology with nothing here simply has no ruling on our record yet; that is not a clean bill of health.