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The Soil Association isn't easy to please. To achieve its certified organic status, a product must meet, and then exceed, the standards set by the EU for organic products. That's why its approval is so well respected -- it has high standards.
Currently, there aren't any regulatory bodies setting standards on the use of man-made nanomaterials, but the Soil Association has stepped up and said that from this month on no product will be certified as organic if it uses them. This is a bold move, as nanotechnology is a burgeoning $9 billion-a-year industry.
Currently there is relatively little known about nanotechnology. Some is completely safe, but in other areas there has been less research, and so the effects are less predictable.
"The term nanotechnology covers a vast range of applications. Many are not threatening at all, such as nano-structured surfaces for self-cleaning glass. But in the areas of food, and health and beauty, more research must be done. There is considerable evidence that nanoparticles are toxic and potentially hazardous," says Professor Vyvyan Howard, nanotechnology researcher at University of Ulster.
The association isn't taking an entirely negative stance on nanomaterials, it says that it recognises that there may be medical and industrial applications for them -- such materials are commonly used in products such as suncream, for example -- but it also warns that knowledge of the effect they have on organisms is limited.
"There is little scientific understanding about how these substances affect living organisms, indeed initial studies show negative effects," says the Soil Association.
"Three years ago, scientists advised the government that the release of nanoparticles should be ‘avoided as far as possible’. Though the government acknowledged the risks, no action has been taken to impose controls."
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