IT SEEMS like a Willy Wonka fantasy, but right now food companies are using nanotechnology to create all sorts of bizarre products. Milk cartons that glow when their contents turn sour. A sinful-tasting, non-fat ice-cream with loads of fibre, protein and nutrients. Programmable soft drinks, even (simply select the flavour and pull the tab). Such wonders are still being developed, yet engineered nanoparticles are already used across the globe in everything from antibacterial sponges to iron-fortified baby formula.