Knowledge on Nanotechnology Use in Food Industry and the Migration of Nanoparticles from Packaging into Food among students of the University of Maribor

Sprejemanje uporabe nanotehnologije v živilski tehnologiji in pripravljenost nakupa živil, ki vsebujejo nanosestavine, sta odvisna predvsem od posameznih stopenj ozaveščenosti. Znano je, da ljudje pred nepoznanim razvijemo strah in se temu poskušamo izogniti. Pomembno je, da se ljudi čim bolj ozavešča o nanotehnologiji, o njenih pozitivnih in tudi negativnih vplivih. Namen magistrske naloge je bil raziskati stališče študentov do uporabe nanotehnologije v živilskem sektorju in ugotoviti, kako so seznanjeni z njo. Leta 2019 smo izvedli raziskavo na temo poznavanja nanotehnologije in migracij nanodelcev iz embalaže v živila med študenti Univerze v Mariboru. Za potrebe raziskave je bil izdelan vprašalnik, ki vsebuje 10 vprašanj. V raziskovalni vzorec je bilo vključenih 300 študentov iz šestih fakultet Univerze v Mariboru. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da imajo študentje do nanotehnologije kritično mnenje. Zanjo so že slišali in menijo, da jo poznajo, vendar se je v raziskavi izkazalo, da je poznavanje le-te med študenti slabo. Do podobnih ugotovitev smo prišli tudi pri poznavanju migracij nanodelcev iz embalaže v živila. Študentje se zavedajo, da migracije obstajajo, slabo pa so seznanjeni z mehanizmi, ki jih lahko povzročijo. Izkazalo se je, da če bi imeli kot potrošniki možnost izbire, bi izbrali embalažo, ki ne vsebuje oziroma ni izdelana s pomočjo nanotehnologije. Vprašani menijo, da lahko zaupajo virom, ki so povezani z razširjanjem informacij o nanotehnologiji, vendar ne vsem.How nanotechnology will be accepted in the food technology industry and people’s willingness to buy food that contains nano-ingredients depends primarily on their level of awareness. It is a well-known fact that people have a fear of the unknown and consequently try to avoid it. It is important that people are informed as much as possible about nanotechnology, about its positive and also its negative effects. The aim of the master’s thesis was to research the opinion of students regarding the use of nanotechnology in the food industry and to find out to what extent they are familiar with it. In 2019, we carried out a study on how much students of the University of Maribor know about nanotechnology and the migration of nano-particles from packaging to food. For the purpose of the study, a survey questionnaire containing ten questions was created. The research sample encompassed 300 students from six faculties of the University of Maribor. The results showed that the students have a critical view of nanotechnology. They have heard of it and think that they know about it, but, in fact, the study showed that the students had only a poor understanding of the topic. We obtained similar findings regarding the level of knowledge about the migration of nano-particles from packaging to food. The students are aware that migrations occur, but they have a poor understanding of the mechanisms that can cause such migrations. We found that if consumers had a choice, they would choose packaging that does not contain or was not produced with nanotechnology. The respondents believe that they can trust sources that are connected to the dissemination of information about nanotechnology, but not all sources