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A functional food is a
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...
claimed to have an additional benefit beyond just
nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
(often one related to
health promotion Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, the "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health." Scope The WHO's 1986 Ottawa Charter for ...
or
disease prevention Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
) by modifying the cultivation of the native food or by adding ingredients during manufacturing. The term applies to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having increased
anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...
or
carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...
contents, respectively. Functional food manufacturing has the intent "to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part of a regular diet". The term also applies to
food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...
practices which include ingredients purposely added with the intent to improve the food health value and for marketing to specific consumer groups. The term was first used in the 1980s in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, where a government approval process for functional foods called ''Foods for Specified Health Use'' (FOSHU) exists.


Ingredients and market trends

Common ingredients intended to be functional when added to foods include
polyunsaturated fatty acids In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid (abbreviated PUFA), which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Some polyunsa ...
,
probiotic Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the microbiota in the gut. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria– host interactions ...
s, prebiotics,
vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
s with
antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...
properties, and
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
. As of 2025, leading product trends and motivations for choosing functional foods are for
energy drink An energy drink is a type of non-alcoholic psychoactive functional beverage containing stimulant compounds, usually caffeine (at a higher concentration than ordinary soda pop) and taurine, which is marketed as reducing tiredness and improving pe ...
s, healthy aging,
active living Active living is a lifestyle that integrates physical activity into everyday routines, such as walking to the store or biking to work. Active living is not a formalized exercise program or routine, but instead means to incorporate physical acti ...
, and
weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...
, among several others.


Health claim status

Presumed benefits of making foods more ''functional'' or healthful have not been scientifically established, and specific statements of
health claim A health claim on a food label and in food marketing is a claim by a manufacturer of food products that their food will reduce the risk of developing a disease or condition. For example, it is claimed by the manufacturers of oat cereals that oa ...
s are regulated on
food label The packaging and labeling of food is subject to regulation in most regions/jurisdictions, both to prevent false advertising and to promote food safety. Regulations by type Multi-faceted * Codex Alimentarius (international voluntary standard ...
s in the European Union, United States and Canada.


Industry

In the United States in 2024, retail sales of functional food and beverage products totaled $320 billion, with estimates for growth to $384 billion by 2028.


See also

* Functional beverage *
Medical food Medical food is food that is specially formulated and intended for the dietary management of a disease that has distinctive nutritional needs that cannot be met by normal diet alone. In the United States, it was defined in the Food and Drug Admin ...
, specially formulated foods to treat diseases with distinctive nutritional needs


References


External links


Functional Foods: Public Health Boon or 21st Century Quackery?
, a review of regulations and demand for functional foods in Japan, the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
and the UK (March 1999) {{food-stub