Nutraceuticals and functional foods present opportunities and challenges for industry

摘要

Nutraceuticals and functional foods represent one of the fastest growing markets in the developed world. A driving force behind this opportunity is an increase in nutritional knowledge and the expectations of consumers that food should provide health benefits beyond simple nutrition. The interest in, and market foods is also being facilitated by dietary concerns of an aging population that have moved from preventing deficiency diseases to longer-term prevention of chronic disease. Consumers are becoming more disease and are increasingly more interested in "natural" rather than "synthetic" solutions. Expanding scientific and clinical research, validating the effectiveness and safety of these products, and increasing media coverage of such information are also contributing to market growth.