Hi folks, I received the following from Faith Gagne...
Mike D. ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Faith Gagne" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: FDA to Look at Nano-products...Again Date sent: Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:52:40 -5 Hi Mike, I am on the mailing list of the Center for Food Safety. They email me from time to time when they want support for the issues on food safety they are pushing with government agencies and the like. They have my name, address and email address and they send me form letters already signed by me (so to speak) so that all I have to do is "Okay" it by clicking a submit button. Usually I am very willing to support the issues they bring up, but I did not do that this time. I do not like their premise that nano-products like nanosilver MAY be dangerous, MAY cause cell death, MAY have a risk of increased toxicity, MAY be potentially hazardous to human health, etc., etc.. They are raising a lot of red flags with absolutely no proof whatsoever. It seems a little ironic that the FDA is supporting some nanotech products now when they are the ones who took CS off the market years ago. Anyway, I emailed the Center for Food Safety, refusing to sign their letter, and telling them why. They and their scientists must first come up with some proof of all these allegations before they will get my approval. I wondered if the letter they wanted me to sign would be of interest to the group, and if you would be interested in posting it. I just thought people should know about this and maybe even write the CFA themselves. Please let me know. thanks. Best Wishes, Faith ----- Original Message ----- From: Center for Food Safety To: Faith Gagne Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 12:36 PM Subject: FDA to Look at Nano-products...Again FDA to Look at Nano-products...Again Dear Faith, The Food and Drug Administration is once again holding an "information gathering" public meeting on nanotechnology, a powerful new technology for taking apart and reconstructing nature at the atomic and molecular level. Like Yogi Berra said, "it's déjà vu all over again." FDA held the same meeting two years ago, in autumn 2006. Even then, the agency was behind the curve: Many products that contain unlabeled nanomaterials, including food and food packaging products, were already on market shelves. Now, two years have passed since that meeting and the agency's continuing stance can be aptly summarized as "all talk, no action." Many new nano-products continue to come to market, at an average of four to five a week. Unfortunately nano-products are still treated by FDA like any other products or product ingredients; yet scientists agree that nanomaterials are fundamentally different substances that create new and unique risks to human health and the environment and need new forms of safety testing. A public comment period is open now through October 24, 2008 - Take action now! Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): Docket No. 2008-N-0416 c/o The Center for Food Safety Below is the sample letter: Subject: Docket No. 2008-N-0416 and Docket No. 2006P-0210 Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here], Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD 20852 Comments on Docket No. 2008-N-0416 and Docket No. 2006P-0210(FDA regulation of nanotechnology materials; public meeting) I write to express my serious concerns about the FDA's regulatory oversight of nanomaterials in consumer products. Hundreds of consumer products containing manufactured nanomaterials are already available on U.S. market shelves, including food and food packaging products. New nanomaterial products are coming out at a rate of four to five a week. In the absence of labeling, public debate or laws to ensure safety, products created using nanotechnology have entered the food chain. Millions of dollars are being spent by government and industry to apply nanotechnology in areas of food processing, food packaging, and agricultural production. Industry analysts estimate that there are between 150-600 nano-foods and 400-500 nano-food packaging products already on market shelves worldwide. Scientists have found that the fundamental properties of matter can change at the nano-scale, creating physical and chemical properties distinct from those of the same material in bulk form. We know that the new properties of nanomaterials also create new risks, like enhanced toxicity, and there is a growing library of scientific studies demonstrating that some of the nanomaterials now being used in foods and agricultural products introduce new risks to human health and the environment. Nanoparticles can gain assess to the blood stream following ingestion. Once inside the body, the super-tiny size of these materials gives them unprecedented mobility and access to the human body; they can access cells, tissues, and organs that larger particles cannot. The length of time that nanoparticles remain in organs and what dose may cause harmful effects remains unknown. It does not appear that FDA is ready for this wave of nano-food products. I am very concerned about the rapid introduction of these potentially hazardous nanomaterials into our bodies and into our environment without adequate scientific study to ensure that we understand their risks and can prevent harm occurring to people and the environment. For these reasons, I strongly request that FDA act urgently to shore up its regulation of these substances to account for their fundamentally different properties and their associated dangers, including requiring new nano-specific testing and the labeling of all nanomaterial products, including nano-food products. Because there are no regulations to require labeling of nano-ingredients and additives in food and packaging there is no way for anyone to choose to eat nano-free. Only with labeling can I make educated decisions about what I buy and put in and on my body. Until such actions are taken, I fully support a moratorium on the manufacture of nanomaterial consumer products and the recall of products currently on the market. Sincerely, [member "signature" goes here] Take Action! Instructions: Click here to take action on this issue Tell-A-Friend: Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-Friend! What's At Stake: Nanotechnology is a powerful platform technology to take apart and reconstruct nature at the atomic and molecular level. It involves the manipulation of matter at the nanometer (nm) scale, one-billionth of a meter. The nano-scale is exceedingly tiny: A human hair is huge by comparison, about 50,000 nm thick; the head of a pin is about 1 million nm across. Scientists have found that the fundamental properties of matter can change at the nano-scale, creating physical and chemical properties distinct from those of the same material in bulk form. Nanoparticles have unprecedented mobility, and readily enter the human body and gain access to the blood stream via inhalation and ingestion. In addition, the jury is still out on the ease of nanoparticles' ability to penetrate the skin. Studies have raised numerous red flags, with some showing that certain nanoparticles can be toxic to human tissue and cells. Once inside the body, nanoparticles can cross biological membranes, cells, tissues, and organs more efficiently than larger particles. Once in the blood stream, nanomaterials can circulate throughout the body and can be taken up by the organs and tissues including the brain, liver, heart, kidneys, spleen, bone marrow, and nervous system. In addition, unlike larger particles, nanoparticles are transported within cells and taken up by cell mitochondria and the cell nucleus, where they may interfere with normal cellular function, cause oxidative damage and even cell death. The length of time that nanoparticles remain in organs and the dosage that may cause harmful effects remains unknown. Scientists agree that because of their new properties and seemingly limitless mobility, nanoparticles can create new and unique risks to human health and the environment, notably enhanced toxicity. These risks require new forms of safety testing. Existing studies have raised red flags demonstrating that current nanomaterials already in commerce may be extremely damaging to living organisms and systems. By 2010 the nano-food market could be worth $6 billion. Many of the world's leading food companies - including H.J. Heinz, Nestle, Hershey, Campbell, General Mills, PepsiCo, Sara Lee, Unilever, and Kraft - are investing heavily in nanotechnology applications. Nanoparticles of silver, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide, materials now used in dietary supplements and food packaging, have been found to be highly toxic to cells in studies. Nano-silver, the most common commercialized nanomaterial, is being used in numerous food packaging items, cutlery, baby bottles, and kitchen appliances and cleaners for its "germ-killing" power. This same powerful strength can destroy important beneficial microorganisms in nature as well. Moreover, the unregulated commercialization of these products poses unknown dangers to the environment once they are released into the waste stream. The same unique mobility and toxicity concerns that apply to human health apply to the environment. Even simply detecting these engineered substances in the environment is a new challenge. Thus far, nanotechnology-laced products are treated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) like any other products or product ingredients. In 2006 CTA, joined by other consumer health and environmental groups, petitioned FDA to stop ignoring the new dangers presented by these nanomaterials and force manufacturers to label these new nanoproducts, including nano-sunscreens (Docket No. 2006P-2010). In 2008 CTA filed a similar legal action with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the unregulated potential environmental and health dangers of nano-silver consumer products. Further Resources: International Center for Technology Assessment 2008 Legal Petition to EPA on Regulation of Nano-silver Products, http://www.nanoaction.org/nanoaction/pag e. cfm?id=244 Friends of the Earth, Report, Out Of The Laboratory And Onto Our Plate: Nanotechnology in Food & Agriculture (2008), http://action.foe.org/content.jsp?conten t_ KEY=3965&t=2007_Healthy-People.dwt, and http://www.foe.org/pdf/nano_food.pdf International Center for Technology Assessment 2006 Legal Petition to FDA on Regulation of Nanotechnology and Nano-Sunscreens: http://www.icta.org/doc/Nano%20FDA%20pet it ion%20final.pdf Petition Executive Summary: http://www.icta.org/doc/Nano%20petition% 20 ex%20summary.pdf Friends of the Earth Report: A Consumer Guide for Avoiding Nano-Sunscreens (2007) http://www.foe.org/nano_sunscreens_guide /N ano_Sunscreens.pdf Friends of the Earth Report: Nanomaterials, Sunscreens, and Cosmetics: Small Ingredients Big Risks (2006): http://www.foe.org/camps/comm/nanotech/n an ocosmetics.pdf Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials: http://www.icta.org/doc/Principles%20for %2 0the%20Oversight%20of%20Nanotechnologies %2 0and%20Nanomaterials_final.pdf Executive Summary/Press Release of Principles: http://www.icta.org/press/release.cfm?ne ws _id=26 Consumer Reports: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/healt h-fitness/beauty-personal-care/sunscreen-7 -0 7/overview/0707_sunscreen.htm Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies - Consumer Product Database: http://www.nanotechproject.org/44 Campaign Expiration Date: October 20, 2008 ------ End of forwarded message -------[Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. 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