The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) today announced that over 1,000 nanotechnology-enabled products have now been made available to consumers worldwide.

"The use of nanotechnology in consumer products continues to grow rapidly," says PEN Director David Rejeski. "When we launched the inventory in March 2006 we only had 212 products. If the introduction of new products continues at the present rate, the number of products listed in the inventory will reach close to 1,600 within the next two years. This will provide significant oversight challenges for agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Product Safety Commission, which often lack any mechanisms to identify nanotech products before they enter the marketplace."

"Health and fitness items continue to dominate the PEN inventory, representing 60 percent of products listed," according to the organization. "More products are based on nanoscale silver - used for its antimicrobial properties - than any other nanomaterial; 259 products (26 percent of the inventory) use silver nanoparticles. The updated inventory represents products from over 24 countries, including the U.S., China, Canada, and Germany."

The press release is here.