Nanotechnology is one of the innovative technologies, which includes the characterization and fabrication of, and/or manipulation with structures, devices, or materials that have at least one dimension of approximately 1 – 100 nm in length. In the paper, the achievements of nanotechnology are presented as are its possible applications to the food industry. There are discussed issues connected, mainly, with increasing the food quality, developing intelligent food and packaging, as well as with using nano-sensors to detect the bacterial contamination and the presence of pesticides. Potential human health and environmental risks are shown, which are involved in using nano-materials. Moreover, pertinent legal provisions are described; it is stressed that those provisions must be adjusted to the specificity of nano-materials.