Functional food

{{Short description|Food modified for a presumed health benefit}}

A functional food is a food claimed to have an additional benefit beyond just nutrition (often one related to health promotion or disease prevention) by modifying the cultivation of the native food or by adding ingredients during manufacturing.{{cite magazine|date=4 April 2025|magazine=Food Technology Magazine, Institute of Food Technology|author=Sloan AE|title=The Top 10 Functional Food Trends|access-date=18 April 2025|url=https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2025/april/features/the--top-10-functional-food--trends}}

The term applies to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having increased anthocyanin or carotenoid contents, respectively.{{cite web | url=https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2014/nov/potatoes | title=Delicious, Nutritious, and a Colorful Dish for the Holidays! | publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, AgResearch Magazine | date=November 2014 | access-date=11 October 2016}} Functional food manufacturing has the intent "to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part of a regular diet".{{cite web|title=Basics about Functional Food|publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service|url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/00000000/NPS/FinalFunctionalFoodsPDFReadVersion6-25-10.pdf|date=July 2010}}

The term also applies to food processing practices which include ingredients purposely added with the intent to improve the food health value and for marketing to specific consumer groups.

The term was first used in the 1980s in Japan, where a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU) exists.{{cite web | title=FOSHU, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan | agency= Government of Japan | url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/foodsafety/fhc/02.html}}

Ingredients and market trends

Common ingredients intended to be functional when added to foods include polyunsaturated fatty acids, probiotics, prebiotics, vitamins with antioxidant properties, and protein.{{Cite journal |last=Granato |first=Daniel |last2=Barba |first2=Francisco J. |last3=Kovačević |first3=Danijela Bursać |last4=Lorenzo |first4=José M. |last5=Cruz |first5=Adriano G. |last6=Putnik |first6=Predrag |date=2020-03-25 |title=Functional Foods: Product Development, Technological Trends, Efficacy Testing, and Safety |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-food-032519-051708 |journal=Annual Review of Food Science and Technology |language=en |volume=11|pages=93–118 |doi=10.1146/annurev-food-032519-051708 |issn=1941-1413|url-access=subscription }}{{cite web |author1=Mellentin J |title=Key Trends in Functional Foods for 2025 |url=https://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/key-trends-in-functional-foods-for-2025/ |publisher=Nutraceuticals World |access-date=18 April 2025 |date=7 October 2024}}

As of 2025, leading product trends and motivations for choosing functional foods are for energy drinks, healthy aging, active living, and weight loss, among several others.

Health claim status

Presumed benefits of making foods more functional or healthful have not been scientifically established, and specific statements of health claims are regulated on food labels in the European Union, United States and Canada.{{cite journal |vauthors=González-Díaz C, Gil-González D, Álvarez-Dardet C |title=Scientific Evidence on Functional Food and Its Commercial Communication: A Review of Legislation in Europe and the USA |journal=Journal of Food Science |volume=83 |issue=11 |pages=2710–2717 |date=November 2018 |pmid=30339738 |doi=10.1111/1750-3841.14359 |url=https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1750-3841.14359|hdl=10045/83410 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite web |title=Health claims on food labels |url=https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/industry/health-claims |publisher=Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada |access-date=18 April 2025 |date=23 January 2025}}

Industry

In the United States in 2024, retail sales of functional food and beverage products totaled $320 billion, with estimates for growth to $384 billion by 2028.

References

External links

[http://www.cspinet.org/reports/functional_foods/ Functional Foods: Public Health Boon or 21st Century Quackery?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213230019/http://www.cspinet.org/reports/functional_foods/ |date=2004-12-13 }}, a review of regulations and demand for functional foods in Japan, the U.S. and the UK (March 1999)