FDA regulation of nano­ingredients is particularly crucial, since the agency oversees products that go directly onto or into the body. But the government’s 2007 budget request for nanotechnology research includes nothing for the FDA.

The agency itself must reassess its regulatory policies, says former FDA official Michael Taylor. Its Web site says “existing requirements may be adequate for most nanotechnology products that we will regulate.” In contrast, scientific and government panels in Europe call for testing, approving, and regulating nanomaterials as new chemical substances.

In May 2006, the International Center for Technology Assessment in Washington, D.C., and other advocacy groups filed a petition with the FDA demanding new regulations for products with nanoingredients. The petition argued that the agency failed to properly review the safety of nanoscale titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in sunscreens.

Commenting on the petition last year, Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association vice president John Bailey said the particles are tested for safety before they’re sold and “have been affirmed to be safe by the FDA.” But when Consumer Reports filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain copies of the safety documentation the FDA purportedly reviewed, its response did not include any scientific evidence.

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan says a Nanotechnology Task Force formed several months after the petition was filed is evaluating whether nanoscale materials warrant additional safety reviews and whether labeling will be required for personal-care products.