Salad for a month?

Would you eat salad greens that were a month old?

Soon you may be able to. And, in a scary twist, you may not be able to tell the difference between the old and fresh.

It's all because of an emerging technology based around something called 'nano-particles'. Nanotechnology will mean that food will be able to absorb chemicals from its packaging, keeping it from spoiling and giving it a longer shelf life.

Apparently, and thankfully, nanotechnology is not legal in Australia, but there is no law that says companies can't use current ingredients of food in a nano-particle form.

Some food technology spokesperson was on the radio this morning, when I heard this story. His comment was, "We don't know what the risks are, if indeed there are any risks..."

No risks? Come on! Food is good for us because it has been living. It is best when it is fresh. If chemicals can alter food, they are going to alter our bodies in some way. It's bad enough that the big chains spray their produce with preservative before putting it out on the shelves. If nanotechnology comes in, you won't find me shopping with the 'Fresh Food' people any more.

The average person eats a heck of a lot of preservatives every day, in every snack and in every meal. I wonder... do our bodies actually rot when we hit the grave, or have we discovered a new form of embalming?

Give me real food, not chemicals.