Functional food

A functional food is a food claimed to have an additional function (often one related to health promotion or disease prevention) by adding new ingredients or more of existing ingredients.[1] The term may also apply to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having increased anthocyanin or carotenoid contents, respectively.[2] Functional foods may be "designed 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".[3]

The term was first used in the 1980s in Japan, where there is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU).[4]

  1. ^ What are Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals? Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Archived June 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Delicious, Nutritious, and a Colorful Dish for the Holidays!". US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, AgResearch Magazine. November 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Basics about Functional Food" (PDF). US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. July 2010.
  4. ^ "FOSHU, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan". Government of Japan.