Nanotechnology is gaining the interest of the food and beverage (F&B) industry thanks to its promising solutions to the challenges of global food security, the prevalence of anemia, changing consumer demand, food safety during transportation, food spoilage, and sustainability. This creates an auspicious growth opportunity for technology developers in the F&B industry as they center their research and development (R&D) activities on adopting nanotechnologies for their products’ development.

However, this technology is not without its challenges: heightened scrutiny on nanotechnology in the sector due to its potential human health hazards and environmental concerns and a lack of reliable risk assessment methods inhibiting regulatory bodies from establishing clear and effective frameworks will prove difficult obstacles for technology developers that try to commercialize these technologies at a global scale. As a result, most of the R&D in nanotechnology for F&B emphasizes sustainable materials and green manufacturing processes.

This study identifies and analyzes emerging innovations in nanotechnology that can drive sustainability in the F&B sector and offers insights into different nanotechnologies such as nanoadditives, nanocoatings, nanocomposites, nanoemulsions, nanoencapsulation, nanoparticles, and other nanostructured materials. The primary focus of the study is to identify the most promising technologies adopted across the F&B industry that surpass conventional technologies and demonstrate their different applications.

The study focuses on food processing and food packaging, which are the two most active areas in terms of research and have a tremendous potential to drive sustainability in the industry. Furthermore, the study discusses current challenges in the F&B industry across various regional markets and the need for nanotechnology in order to address these challenges; potential drivers and challenges in adopting nanotechnology in F&B and the industry’s efforts to overcome them; innovations and development efforts in the field of nanotechnology that support food processing and food packaging; and the evolution of nanotechnology across food processing and food packaging in the next five years.