1 Functional foods – An overview.

Talwinder Kahlon. WRRC, USDA, ARS, Albany, CA.

Functional foods is a recently coined phrase used by health conscious consumers, scientists and the food industry. Every professional scientific and food industry meeting or symposium held during 1999 has covered some aspect of this topic. A functional food is any food, modified food or food ingredient that may provide structural, functional or health benefits beyond the nutrients it contains. Consumers are interested in nutritious foods with associated health benefits. We are moving beyond preventing deficiency diseases into promoting optimal health, longevity and quality of life. Chairs of this symposium will be commenting on the current trends and issues relating to functional foods and the areas not covered by the other speakers.