Arvanitoyannis Ioannis S, Van Houwelingen-Koukaliaroglou Maria
University of Thessaly, Department of Agriculture, Volos, Hellas, Greece.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2005;45(5):385-404. doi: 10.1080/10408390590967667.
Functional foods stand for a new category of remarkably promising foods bearing properties (i.e., low cholesterol, antioxidant, anti-aging, anticancer, etc.) that have already rendered them quite appealing. There are many classes offunctionalfoods (pro- and pre-biotics, dietary fiber, low fat, etc.), and their definition is occasionally confused with that of nutraceuticals and novel foods. Consumers' main skepticism regarding functional foods resides in the veracity of health claims and in the low and often inadequate control of their claimed properties. Legislation concerning this matter is progressing at an extremely low pace and currently only Japan, the U.K., U.S.A., and Scandinavian countries have managed to make notable progress. Moreover, the labeling of functional foods is far from informative, providing scanty information about nutritional value, storage, and cooking recipes. It is anticipated that technological advances in the food industry, in conjunction with extensive clinical trials and governmental control, will eventually guarantee the credibility of health claims and ensure consumers' confidence in functional foods.
功能性食品代表了一类极具前景的新型食品，它们具有多种特性（如低胆固醇、抗氧化、抗衰老、抗癌等），这些特性已使它们颇具吸引力。功能性食品有很多种类（益生元和合生元、膳食纤维、低脂食品等），其定义有时会与营养保健品和新型食品的定义相混淆。消费者对功能性食品的主要疑虑在于健康声称的真实性以及对其宣称特性的控制不足且往往不充分。关于此事的立法进展极其缓慢，目前只有日本、英国、美国和斯堪的纳维亚国家取得了显著进展。此外，功能性食品的标签信息严重不足，提供的关于营养价值、储存和烹饪方法的信息很少。预计食品行业的技术进步，再加上广泛的临床试验和政府监管，最终将确保健康声称的可信度，并增强消费者对功能性食品的信心。
