Functional food science in Europe

Directorate-General For Research And Innovation

Description

Agricultural and fisheries research

Sujets

• Food chemistry
• Food
• Nutrition
• Nutrition disorder
• Sciences et techniques

Informations

• Publié par: DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-RESEARCH-AND-INNOVATION
• Nombre de lectures: 25
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 7 Mo

Extrait

Europea n Commission
Community research
Project report
Functional food science
in Europe
Volume 1
^ ^ FAIR
Agriculture and fisheries
From scientific evidence based on markers for functional foods to types
of claims relevant to them
Consumption /Marker s of / ^ Markers of
o f tar /exDosure / 9.et
functional
food
component
TYPE Β CLAIMS
(reduced risk of disease)
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Functional food science in Europe
Volume 1
FAIR
Agriculture and fisheries
(including agroindustry, food technologies, forestry, aquaculture,
and rural development)
Directorate-General for Research
2000 EUR 18591 LEGAL NOTICE
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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2000
ISBN 92-828-7743-4
Volume 2: ISBN 92-828-7744-2
Volume 3: ISBN 92-828-7745-0
Volumes 1-3: ISBN 92-828-4776-4
© European Communities, 2000
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER SI
Preface
This concerted action 'Functional Food Science in Europe' The food area is important within this programme and is
(FUFÓSE) has been funded within the FAIR RTD covered by the theme 'Generic Science and Advanced
programme, which is part of the Commission's Fourth Technologies for Nutritious Foods'.
Framework Programme for research and technological There is growing interest in Europe in the concept of
development. 'Functional Foods' and this concerted action, bringing
This programme aims at promoting trans-European together Europe's scientists and industry, is fundamental
research in the primary production sectors of agriculture, to establishing a science-based approach to such foods.
horticulture, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture, linking Liam Breslin
these with the input and processing industries, particularly European Commission
food processing and renewable biomaterials. DG XII - FAIR Programme S3
Foreword
also include foods in which a potentially harmful component Introduction
has (or components have) been removed by technological
We stand today at the threshold of a new frontier in means.
nutritional sciences. The concepts of food are changing
from a past emphasis on survival, hunger satisfaction,
European Commission objectives absence of adverse effect on health, and health maintenance
to an emphasis on the promising use of foods to promote An important objective is to improve the understanding of
better health and well-being, thus helping to reduce the risk the role of food in the general health and well-being of the
of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, some European consumer. Food can play a major role in main­
cancers and obesity. taining and improving human health and well-being and in
These new concepts are of particular importance in view reducing the risk of major diseases. This will also lead to the
of the benefits for health, consumer demand, the demand of design of special or tailored foodstuffs and ingredients for
the elderly population for an improved quality of their late specific population groups or for specific health benefits.
life, the continuous increase in life expectancy, the increas­ This will be an expanding area for the food industry in the
ing cost of health care, technical advances in the food future, and European industry, building on the considerable
industry, and the changing regulatory environment. European research expertise, must be at the forefront here.
There is already a recognition that European research This will involve multidisciplinary research projects com­
expertise must be at the forefront in understanding the role bining the expertise of scientific partners, such as bioche­
of food in the maintenance and improvement of human mists, nutritionists, the medical professionals and process
health and well-being, in the reduction of risk of major technologists.
diseases and in improving the competitive position of the The food and drink industry ranks as a major European
European food industry. The number of major research industry processing raw materials from agriculture, horti­
programmes designed to investigate and clarify the health- culture, fisheries and aqua-culture into the diverse range of
promoting value of foods and food components is forecast to quality foodstuffs which are produced throughout Europe.
continue to grow, particularly where serious debilitating Research in this sector has the major objective to improve
diseases are concerned, e.g. heart disease, cancers and the competitive position of the food industry which is
osteoporosis. composed of leading multinationals and a wide range of
The most recent knowledge in biochemistry, cell biology small and medium-sized enterprises specializing in food
and physiology, but also in pathology, supports the hypothesis throughout Europe.
that diet also controls and modulates various functions in
the body, and, in doing so, participates in the maintenance of ILSI Europe's role the state of good health necessary to reduce the risk of some of
the diseases. It is such an hypothesis which is at the origin In response to these critical developments, ILSI Europe has
both of the concept of 'functional food' and the development elaborated a project proposal for a European Commission
of a new scientific discipline 'functional food science'. Concerted Action aimed at establishing a science-based
approach for concepts in functional food science. The goal Functional food science aims to (1) identify beneficial
interactions between the presence or absence of a food of this concerted action is to establish a multidisciplinary
component (whether a macronutrient, micronutrient or so- European network to (1) critically assess the science base
called non-nutrient) and a specific function or functions in required to provide evidence that specific nutrients posi­
the body, and (2) understand their mechanisms, so as to tively affect functions, (2) examine the available science
support hypotheses to be tested in protocols relevant for from a function-driven point of view rather than a nutrient-
human studies. The demonstration, in human subjects, of a driven one, and (3) reach consensus on targeted modifica­
specific interaction with one or a limited number of func­ tions of food and food constituents, and options for their
tions in the body will support a specific, often well-defined, application. This approach aims to provide key actors from
claim of functional effects or disease risk reduction. Func­ Europe's food and agricultural industry, governmental and
tional food science is indeed part of nutrition science, where inter-governmental bodies and the scientific community
the objectives are to maintain health and improve well- with an opportunity to exchange ideas and interact on a
being and to create the conditions for disease risk reduction, neutral platform.
and it is, in this respect, quite distinct from the medical or
pharmaceutical sciences, where the objectives are mainly to
The project cure diseases.
A food is said to be 'functional' if it contains 'a food The Functional Food Science in Europe (FUFÓSE) project
component (whether a nutrient or not) which affects one or was submitted in March 1995, approved in November
more targeted functions in the body in a positive way'. It can 1995 and was expected to attain its objectives over a period S4 Foreword
of 3 years. Project management and coordination was (5) Research needs.
especially provided by ILSI Europe. Overall guidance on (6) Communication of the health benefits of functional
scientific and organizational issues was ensured through a foods.
steering committee, comprising members from both industry (7) Conclusions.
and academia.
The expert group that undertook the elaboration of the
To attain the project objectives, the steering committee text was composed of two ITG chairs and four members of established individual theme groups (ITG) and organized a
the steering commi