Through bottom-up engineering, nanomaterials can be devised which are able to detect the presence of gasses, aromas, chemical contaminants and pathogens, or respond to changes in environmental conditions. 
This not only is useful for quality control to ensure that consumers are able to purchase products which are at their peak of freshness and flavor, but it also has the potential to improve food safety and reduce the frequency of food-borne illnesses. 
Such technology would obviously benefit consumers, industry stakeholders and food regulators.
Some companies (e.g., Ripesense [http://www.ripesense.com] and OnVu [http://www.onvu.com/]) already market nanotechnology products that help consumers determine whether certain foods are likely to be palatable, but most of the work on nanosensors or assays for food-related analytes is still in the early stages of development. 
This section highlights some of the most recent and exciting work in this area.