Functional Foods

Principles and Technology

Mingro Guo, Mingruo Guo

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2013
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• eBook ISBN:
  9781845696078
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Functional foods - products which have health-promoting properties over and beyond their nutritional value - have become a significant food industry sector. The global market for these products remains dynamic and is predicted to grow further. Functional foods: Principles and technology provides both students and professionals with an authoritative introduction to the key scientific aspects and major product categories in this area.The opening chapter introduces the principles of functional foods and explores industry and consumer roles in this evolving market. Subsequent chapters focus on the most significant product categories, reviewing ingredient sources, classification, chemical and physical properties, the wide range of therapeutic effects and possible mechanisms of action, among other topics. Antioxidants, dietary fiber, prebiotics and probiotics, lipids and soy are among the foods and food constituents covered. The Appendix contains laboratory exercises aimed at those using this book in a classroom situation.Functional foods: principles and technology is an essential guide for all those studying and working with functional foods. - Provides both students and professionals with an authoritative introduction to the key scientific aspects and major product categories - Introduces the principles of functional foods and explores industry and consumer roles in this evolving market - Focuses on the most significant product categories, reviewing ingredient sources, classification, chemical and physical properties

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Publisher Summary

This chapter focuses on functional foods and provides an overview of the chapters of the book, “Functional Foods: Principles and Technology”, by Dr. Mingruo Guo. A food may have three functions: (1) providing energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and/or lipids, and basic nutrition; (2) giving pleasure, that is, enjoyable aroma, color, and taste; and (3) having health benefits. A functional food may be similar in appearance to, or is a conventional food, is consumed as a part of normal diet, and has physiological benefits and/or reduces the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutrition. Some examples of functional food are iodized salt, vitamin A and D fortified milk, yogurt, folic acid-enriched bread, tomatoes, broccoli, soy products, blueberries, cranberries, garlic, wheat bran, and oats. Functional foods can be the foods that are natural, fortified, enriched, or contain functional ingredients. The chapter reviews the history and market of this type of foods. The good news is that the concept of functional foods is becoming more widespread. With the growing awareness of the benefits of these foods, the food industry has shown an interest in meeting the growing demand for functional foods. The chapter also discusses the evolution of health care and functional foods and explores both the industry and the consumer roles involved in this growing field.

Definition, History and Market

A food may have three functions: (1) providing energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and/or lipids, and basic nutrition; (2) giving us pleasure, i.e., enjoyable aroma, color, and taste; (3) having health benefits. A functional food may be similar in appearance to, or is a conventional food, is consumed as a part of normal diet, and has physiological benefits and/or reduces the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutrition.

Functional foods are also called “nutraceuticals”, “medical foods”, or “designer foods” in the literature. The terminology, functional foods, for these beneficial foods is preferred due to the self descriptive nature of the term.

Some examples are iodized salt, vitamin A and D fortified milk, yogurt, folic acid enriched bread, tomatoes, broccoli, soy products, blueberries, cranberries, garlic, wheat bran, and oats. Functional foods can be the foods which are natural, fortified, enriched, or contain functional ingredients.

The term functional food was coined by Japanese scientists in the 1970’s and was introduced to the European scientific community in the 1980’s. Functional foods did not receive much notice in the U.S. until the 1990’s, where they first gained popularity in the west coast. However, the roots could be traced back to the Chinese who used foods as medicine for thousands of years.

The market sale value for functional foods was over $10 billion in 2005 in the U.S. according to a strict definition. In fact, the functional foods market will reach about $36 billion in 2006, and it will jump up to $60 billion in 2009 (NMI, 2005). Based on my personal calculations, current functional foods market value will exceed $100 billion if a general definition for functional foods is applied. It is increasing with a growth rate of 10% annually. The global functional foods market will continue to be a dynamic and growing segment of the food industry. Functional foods are considered to be the foods for the next century.

Awareness of Functional Foods

The good news is that the concept of functional foods is becoming more widespread. More than 90% of Americans could name a functional food and its associated benefits in 2005 up from 77% in 1998, and 84% in 2002 (IFIC, 2005). The vast majority of Americans believe foods have health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Through education and media exposure, the benefits of functional foods are more widely understood by the population. A survey to identify which functional foods’ benefits were recognized by the majority of the population revealed that while some foods were clearly identified with their benefits, others were not. An example of these results is presented in Figure 1.1.

FIGURE 1.1 Awareness of Functional Foods and Disease Association

Figure 1.1 indicates that while more than 90% of respondents were aware of the association of calcium and bone health, less than 50% were aware of the benefits of probiotics (the living organisms that can be found in yogurt) supporting a healthy balance of microflora in the human digestive tract. These will be addressed in greater detail later in the course. Only about 40% of respondents were familiar with or associated soy protein with reducing the risk of heart disease. Despite the low level of awareness of certain functional food benefits, the overall awareness is growing, which explains the increase in consumption of functional foods. Consumers want to learn more about the health benefits offered by foods that have health benefits beyond nutrition. Figure 1.2 shows that awareness for health benefits of some functional foods are gaining ground. The awareness comes from several sources such as the government, health care providers, personal health concerns, and friends and family. The source of information about health and nutrition is primarily from the media accounting for 72%, medical sources ranking second with 44%, and 20% obtained from friends and family or self. Diet and health books account for only 13%.

FIGURE 1.2 Top Five Sources of Information About Health and Functional Foods

With the growing awareness of these benefits, the food industry has shown an interest in meeting the growing demand for functional foods. What foods will people want to be fortified with these functional ingredients? The foods we consume everyday such as juices and milk are the answers. Health officials in the government and in hospitals also are interested in finding ways to deliver more of these benefits to the population. Some examples of government intervention in delivering functional food were a move to iodize salt and to add fluoride to public drinking water. Research has been done on what food sources would be most acceptable to the population for the delivery of antioxidants (often found in less popular foods such as fruits and green vegetables). A large majority of the people would find fruit juice fortified with antioxidants appealing while only about 1/3 would like it in candy, indicating more Americans are interested in natural and functional foods.

Evolution of Health Care and Functional Foods

This increasing interest in functional foods represents a paradigm shift from eliminating “bad” to increasing the “good” components that one consumes. It is a widely held belief that most people have control over their health and a large part of that is controlling their diet. In a way our method of ensuring health and long life has come full circle (Figure 1.3).

FIGURE 1.3 Evolution of Mankind’s Health Care

One explanation of this is that we have not had many large infectious disease outbreaks. Therefore, most of the population is more concerned with non-infectious diseases; obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, et...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• PREFACE
• DEDICATION
• DEDICATION
• Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
• Chapter 2: ANTIOXIDANTS AND ANTIOXIDANT RICH FOODS
• Chapter 3: DIETARY FIBER AND DIETARY FIBER RICH FOODS
• Chapter 4: PREBIOTICS AND PROBIOTICS
• Chapter 5: LIPIDS AND LIPID RELATED FUNCTIONAL FOODS
• Chapter 6: VITAMINS AND MINERALS AS FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS
• Chapter 7: SOY FOOD PRODUCTS AND THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS
• Chapter 8: SPORTS DRINKS
• Chapter 9: HUMAN MILK AND INFANT FORMULA
• Appendix
• INDEX