Do you know what you’re eating? The number of American food products containing nanomaterials has increased tenfold since 2008, said a report released this week, reviving concerns about the miniscule particles and their place on our plates.

The Friends of the Earth environmental group, which conducted the study, reports that its researchers found unregulated, ‘unlabeled nano-ingredients” in dozens of popular food products ranging from Oreos and Twinkies to Kraft American Singles and Betty Crocker Mashed Potatoes.

Titled ‘Tiny Ingredients, Big Risks,” the report suggests that the prevalence of nanoparticles in food products presents serious dangers to human health. Some nanomaterials ‘have been found to be highly toxic to cells in test tube and animal studies,” and a number of individual nanoparticles have been identified as carcinogenic, the report said. But there is little evidence on the impact of humans’ ingestion of nanomaterials.

Nanomaterials, also referred to as nanoparticles or nanofoods, are loosely defined as any material with a dimension — length or width — of less than 100 nanometers. In food, they’re used mainly for aesthetic purposes such as making powdered toppings whiter and frostings shinier. They are often intentionally added during the manufacturing process as industrially produced powders but are also […]