Scientific substantiation of claims in the USA: focus on functional foods

European Journal of Nutrition
Joanne R Lupton

Abstract

Although functional foods are currently regulated the same as conventional foods by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) there is some concern that they should not be. One concern is whether functional foods can/should carry the same type of health and nutrition labeling claims as conventional foods. For example, the type of nutrient content claim that describes a level of the nutrient such as "good or excellent source" presents a problem for functional foods since these claims relate back to a standard value for nutrients (the daily value or DV). At this time the bioactive or functional components in a functional food do not have daily values so they could not take advantage of this type of claim. Structure/function claims are also at issue since they are required to relate to the food's attributes of taste, aroma, and nutritive value, rather than attributes of functionality (which would pertain to functional foods). There appear to be three categories of issues concerning the regulation of functional foods: safety; efficacy; and their effect on the overall diet. Since bioactive components can be synthesized or extracted and concentrated, the concern is that the amounts of these substances in functional foods might reach ...Continue Reading

References

May 20, 2009·American Journal of Health-system Pharmacy : AJHP : Official Journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

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Citations

Aug 28, 2014·Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition·Rohan AmeratungaSee-Tarn Woon
May 28, 2011·Journal of the American Dietetic Association·Wendy Reinhardt KapsakChristy White
Oct 20, 2018·Journal of Food Science·Cristina González-DíazCarlos Álvarez-Dardet

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