ABSTRACT
Nanoparticles have particular chemical and physical properties that make them exploitable in different fields of application, such as food, environment, and biomedical applications. Their development requires in-depth knowledge of the interactions with cells, for the purpose of both improving the efficiency of use and reducing toxic effects. The multiplication of available materials is the cause and effect of further detailed multiplications; the specialization becomes more and more necessary in sectoral and specific fields, in order to ensure that production meets the required service. A point of arrival is the philosophy of “ad hoc” design.
Ensuring the highest food safety standard is a strategic priority; in the light of food market globalization, the problem of food security is very important today. Furthermore, it is now well established that food hygiene is a prerequisite for quality. Food security is therefore no longer understood only as an added value but, in addition to being due, it also represents an element of credibility. Chemical or biological contamination of food products is one of the greatest apprehensions of consumers, because it can be an important source of diseases and responsible for serious infections. The chemical contamination of agrofood products is a fairly complex problem, closely linked to industrial development, urban development, and increasing use of xenobiotic substances (foreign to the natural environment).
Agrofood industries, called to protect the healthiness of their products, are therefore particularly involved in the prevention and management of risks related to contaminants at all levels of the production process, from agricultural raw matter to the finished industrial product (supply chain).
The agrofood traceability aims to increase the current levels of safety control, in order to protect the health of consumers and to minimize risks following the ingestion of unhealthy food. An efficient system is made up of all tools and technologies (software, hardware, mobile telephony, internet, barcodes, RFID, etc.) that make the traceability possible.
The use of nanotechnology can bring interesting benefits for producers and consumers, such as to maintain the sensory quality and safety. Properties of nanostructured systems depend on the “nano-effect,” generated when charges are punctually distributed and homogeneously dispersed in the polymer. This creates a large interface between the organic and inorganic phases, called “interphase,” which can represent up to 50% of volume of the whole material and thus constitutes a third phase within the nanocomposite. Mathematical modeling helps in the effort to deeply understand the diffusion of charges inside a nanostructure.
The chapter is devoted to the description of the indicated topics, as well as possible future developments.
