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Genetic engineering (GE) has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Thousands of citizens and stakeholders in the United States are currently striving to pass mandatory food-labelling laws, ban certain GE [...]

What people think about food nanotechnology (nanofood) is under-explored in the United States, especially outside of quantitative surveys. As such, we set out to examine public attitudes toward food nanotechnology in conversational, focus group settings in order to identify policy options for nanofood governance, and in particular, options for labeling. Through analysis of focus groups in six U.S. locations, we found that the vast majority of the participants wanted nanotechnology labels for all types of food products, and most were willing to pay a premium for labeling. Participants cited abilities to choose and avoid potential risk as the main purposes of nanofood labels. However, they recognized that labels alone do not provide much meaning and that information concerning food nanotechnology products needs to be sought and supplied beyond the label to enable informed choices. Additionally, willingness-to-use and risk-benefit perceptions varied according to the position and intended functions of the nanomaterials in food products. KEY WORDS: food, nanotechnology, labeling, governance, regulation, policy, Introduction Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter and creation of structures at the nanometer scale, is rapidly growing in numerous areas, including academia, the military, and both the public and private [...]

Examination of different aerobic, heterotrophic marine bacteria for production of volatile organic compounds enables the identification of a group of isolates, which produce significant amounts of acetone. Nonclinical Vibrio species are the major producers of acetone and chromatography confirms the production of acetone. Addition of L-leucine increases the production of acetone, suggesting that formation of acetone involves the degradation of leucine. Production of acetone is maximum during the stationary phase of growth.