While people eat or drink food to maintain life and growth, there is now increasing evidence to suggest that many foods and food components provide physiological and psychological benefits beyond that basic function.
This has shifted the direction of nutrition science towards identifying bioactive components in foods that have the potential to provide health and wellness benefits and which may also play a role in reducing the risk of disease. Such foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy.
In addition to these traditional foods, many foods and beverages are now fortified or enriched with these and other functional substances for their health promoting effects.
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What are Functional Foods?
The concept of “functional foods” was introduced in Japan in the 1980s along with an approval process called Foods for Specific Health Use (FOSHU) for use of the term.1
Since then, different countries have adopted various ideas of functional food in terms of definition, scope and regulatory framework, but there is no universal legal definition for functional foods.2
Generally, a functional food or beverage is one that provides additional or enhanced benefit above and beyond their basic nutritional value.
On this basis, there are two categories of functional foods or beverages:
- Foods that naturally contain bioactive substances that provide health benefits. Oats, for example, contain beta-glucan, a compound that is proven to lower blood cholesterol levels. Therefore, by consuming more oats, people may reduce their risk for heart disease.
- A food product that contains a bioactive substance that would otherwise not be naturally found in the product. For example, potato chips may be dusted with turmeric. The main bioactive in turmeric is curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties.
The main substances that provide “functionality” to the foods are vitamins, flavonoids, fiber, essential fatty acids and bacterial cultures.3
Table 1 Functional Foods, their active components and target function
Functional Food | Active Food Component | Target Function |
Fortified margarines | Plant sterols | ↓ LDL and total cholesterol |
Psyllium | Soluble fiber | ↓ LDL and total cholesterol
↓ CVD risk ↑ Satiety |
Fatty fish, flax seed, enriched eggs | Omega-3 fatty acids | ↓ CVD risk
↑ Mental and visual functions |
Milk, egg, soy, vegetables | Protein (whey, casein, egg, soy, vegetable sources) | ↑ Body composition
↑ Satiety |
Dairy and meat products | Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) | ↑ Weight loss
↑ Heart health |
Fruits, vegetables, tea | Phenolics (anthocyanidins, catechins, flavones, lignans, tannins) | ↓ Risk of cancer |
Yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha | Probiotics (Lactobacillus sp. and Bifidobacterium sp.) | ↑ Digestive health
↑ Immune health |
Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, leeks, onion, banana | Prebiotics (fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin) | ↑ Growth or activity of probiotics |
What consumers want from food
One review suggested that the global market for functional foods and beverages could reach $192 billion by 2020.4
Driving this growth is consumers’ growing interest in the relationship between diet and health, increasing healthcare costs, advances in science and technology and an aging population, among others.
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s 2018 Food and Health Survey found that nearly half of consumers said that “cardiovascular health” is a health benefit they were interested in getting from foods. About one-third of Americans listed “weight loss/weight management,” “energy,” and “brain function (memory, focus, cognition).”5
Challenges of introducing functional food or beverage products to the market
Developing functional foods and beverages is a challenge for food scientists, as they need to ensure that these products meet their target consumers’ expectations while also providing credible scientific evidence to confirm the benefit of any particular food or component.
The fact that functional foods are not recognized legally also represents a challenge for product developers and marketers who want to create, sell and educate consumers about the possible benefits of their functional food or beverage products.
To combat this, the Functional Food Center recommends the following steps.6
The takeaway
The functional food and beverage sector is a growing segment. This growth is driven by scientific and industrial advances, as well as increased consumer demand for products that confer cardiovascular, weight management and brain function benefits.
Steps should be taken to form and agree upon a new formal definition for functional foods so that the challenges associated with bringing them to market is minimized.
References
- Arai S. Studies on functional foods in Japan – state of the art. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1996; 60(1):9-15.
- Keservani RK, Kesharwani RK, Vyas N, Jain S Raghuvanshi R and Sharma AK. Nutraceutical and functional food as future food: A review. Der Pharmacia Lettre. 2010; 2:106.
- Kaur N and Singh DP. Deciphering the consumer behavior facets of functional foods: A literature review. Appetite. 2017; 112:167-187.
- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Labeling & Nutrition.” US Food and Drug Administration Home Page, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, 1 Mar. 2018, https://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/default.htm.
- “2018 Food & Health Survey.” [PDF] International Food Information Council Foundation, 16 May 2018
- Martirosyan DM and Singh J. A new definition of functional food by FCC: what makes a new definition unique? Functional Foods in Health and Disease 2015; 5(6):209-223.
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