A controversial scientific revolution that could give packaged foods a dramatically longer shelf life and boost crop growth has "real potential" to help feed a fast-growing world, according to environment secretary Hilary Benn.

New developments in nanotechnology, engineering carried out at a microscopic level, could lead to plastic packaging designed to stop food and drink spoiling by killing bacteria or preventing oxygen getting through the container.

The technology could also be used to enrich food with supplements and preserve vitamins that would otherwise be destroyed as food aged. Farmers could also use it to ensure the slow release of fertilisers at the right time for crops, and to detect threats from pests or pollutants. The technology is, however, highly controversial, with green campaigners arguing that its effects on human health are unknown.

Benn is spearheading a government project on how to cope with an estimated doubling in demand for food production worldwide by 2050, driven by a growing population and changing dietary habits in emerging nations.

"Nanotechnology has clear potential," he told the Observer. "As with all of these technologies, the government's job is to make sure we fully understand the consequences of using it, but clearly it has got real potential. We ought to be looking at all the means at our disposal."

Nanotechnology is increasingly being seen as a successor to genetically modified (GM) techniques in food production, with GM trials meeting consumer resistance and sabotage by activists.

The science is still in its infancy, but materials currently in development include fizzy-drink bottles made with nanoparticles embedded in the lining to stop carbon dioxide leaking out of the bottle, and storage bins with microscopic particles of silver, which has antibacterial properties, designed to kill any bacteria growing in the contents. Other potential applications include nanoparticles designed to absorb the vitamins in produce such as orange juice, where the vitamin C levels deteriorate quickly after the fruit has been juiced, and release them only when the liquid is drunk.

In the US, trials have also looked at the feasibility of developing "nanosensors" to be embedded in farm animals, which might be able to detect disease before it infected the whole herd.

Benn said a royal commission on environmental pollution recently had concluded there was "no evidence" of harm to health from nanotechnology, although the government was continuing to fund research to answer questions about its environmental or health impact. "Subject to people being assured of those things, then they will weigh up the benefits of the technology and take their decisions about whether to use it." Campaigners say the potential impacts of nanotechnology on both human health and the environment are unproven. Nanotechnology foods would require licensing in the UK, but Benn said the government was pushing for a wider regulatory regime to be established across the EU.

The changing economic climate has led to a renewed interest among governments in GM. Benn pointed to the use of GM soya, which is cheaper than conventional soya, in animal feed, adding: "Individuals will make their own choices, and I understand completely why people would be looking very hard at trying to stretch their pounds."

He said that the UK would await the outcome of scientific trials before any GM product could be approved for commercial growing, adding that producers would have to demonstrate that GM crops lived up to the claims made for them before they could contribute to any strategy to boost food production.

"If GM crops could help deliver better nutrition by enriching vitamins, and if GM was able to develop more drought-resistant or pest-resistant crops, then we have got a basis on which to have a discussion," he added.

Nano science: A backgrounder

Scientists have greeted the plans to give nanotechnology a greater role in food production with guarded optimism. Yes, the move was encouraging but it was also long overdue, they said.

Nanotechnology is engineering carried out at a microscopic level. Typical nanoparticles are around 30 nanometres, or 30 billionths of a metre, in diameter - roughly a 100,000th of the width of a human hair - and can be engineered to carry specks of chemicals or coat a surface or release signals. The potential of these materials is immense, as both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Engineering pointed out in 2003. Since then several UK universities have developed world-ranking status as nanotechnology centres, including Imperial College London and Oxford. However, support from the government has been weak and only now have there been signs of interest.

"There are many ways in which nanoparticles could be used to boost food production," said Professor Terry Wilkins, of Leeds University's Nanomanufacturing Institute. "They could be used to encapsulate flavouring into foods; create packages that will change colour if their food contents go off or be used as coatings that will be bacteria-proof. However, we cannot expect the public to accept this technology without evidence that it has been rigorously tested to show it is completely safe. That must be the first task of any initiative in this field."

Robin McKie