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Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for providing health benefits in foods. Food fortification with iron phosphate nanoparticles (FePO4 NPs) is a promising new approach to reducing iron deficiency because FePO4 NPs combine high bioavailability with superior sensory performance in difficult to fortify foods. However, their safety remains largely untested. We fed rats for 90 days diets containing FePO4 NPs at doses at which iron sulfate (FeSO4), a commonly used food fortificant, has been shown to induce adverse effects. Feeding did not result in signs of toxicity, including oxidative stress, organ damage, excess iron accumulation in organs or histological changes. These safety data were corroborated by evidence that NPs were taken up by human gastrointestinal cell lines without reducing cell viability or inducing oxidative stress. Our findings suggest FePO4 NPs appear to be as safe for ingestion as FeSO4.

Original publication

DOI

10.1080/17435390.2017.1314035

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nanotoxicology

Publication Date

05/2017

Volume

11

Pages

496 - 506

Keywords

Iron phosphate nanoparticles, food fortification, in vitro, in vivo, nanotoxicology, Animals, Biological Availability, Cell Survival, Diet, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Ferric Compounds, Food, Fortified, Glutathione, HT29 Cells, Humans, Iron Overload, Male, Nanoparticles, Oxidative Stress, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley