Chapter 4
Functional Foods The Food Industry and Functional Foods: Some European Perspectives
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O. Korver Unilever Research Laboratory, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands
In the industrialized world, alternative lifestyles, in the way of diet, are being recommended as a preventative action to major health problems. There is a growing interest in the development of foods with properties that may have a beneficial influence on specific health states. These so called "functional foods: are currently being investigated in the food industry. When marketing these foods it is necessary to communicate their nutritional qualities. To avoid misleading the consumers, the basis of this communication must be based on sound scientific principles. In Europe, a legislation has not yet been developed. There have been many suggestions, from various groups, to define the basis for guidelines that may reflect the interests of not only the consumer, but industry as well. Populations in the industrialized world are increasingly facing major diet-related health problems, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Changes in lifestyle, of which a change in dietary habits is one, have been recommended to counter this trend. The traditional dietary recommendations of the past decades have been concentrating on the macronutrients (eat less fat, eat less saturated fat, eat more complex carbohydrates), or on whole foods (eat more fruits and vegetables). In the past 5 years, a new trend has emerged: discussions about the introduction of so called "functional foods". The term is, in fact, an abbreviation of "physiologically functional foods". This development arose from the scientific findings that many plant components have physiological effects. Researchers started to realize that the term "non-nutritive factors", often used for these components, was only used to shield us from our ignorance about their real effects. In Asian countries, especially China, plant foods have already been used as medicine for centuries. In the West, we try to separate food and drugs. The Chinese disagree, as they say "My food is my medicine, and my medicine is my food".
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©1998 American Chemical Society Shibamoto et al.; Functional Foods for Disease Prevention II ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1998.
23 Many people have attempted to define functional foods without actually coming to a clear agreement. There is, however, agreement on some boundary conditions to functional foods. When we talk about "functional foods", the following minimum conditions apply:
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-Functional foods are foods, not drugs: this implies that all the quality criteria that are applied to foods, are part of the product(eg: taste and smell). -The food, used in a realistic way, influences a physiological parameter. -The change in the physiological parameter influences the health and performance of the individual in a positive manner. The healthy properties of a "functional food" must be communicated to the consumer. This must be done because a consumer may decide to consume the food on the basis of the directly observable properties of the product (i.e.: whether the taste is to his/her liking), although, the "health" properties may not be directly observable from the product. The claims and messages that are given, are important for the consumer to make any decisions leading to a healthier diet. Just as the consumer must have an understanding of the "functionality" of their foods, a producer must be given the opportunity to communicate the functionality of the food they distribute. To put restrictive regulations on making claims as to the function of the food, will possibly prevent the producer from covering the Research and Development costs. To make a claim, it must be made with ample scientific research and support, which may incur a significant cost to the producer. On the other hand, no regulations at all may make it possible to make unsubstantiated claims. This will surely lead to confusion among the consumers. Many different countries have attempted to find the "middle road", but which is the most appropriate? Before explaining some of the European developments conscerning this issue, I will bring an example from my own experience on a "functional food" avant la lettre. At the end of the fifties the "lipid hypothesis" was postulated. This hypothesis states that dietary fat composition is an important parameter for blood lipid levels. Blood lipid levels happen to be one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. There was an increased awareness in the medical circles about the "lipid hypothesis", and doctors in the Netherlands approached Unilever with the request to produce products that could be used to stimulate persons with high blood lipid levels, to change their dietary fat composition. These products, obviously, should fit into the normal dietary intake pattern. The first product was a fat that could be used as a spread, or a frying product, and was sold in a tin via pharmacies. Later, after the introduction of the plastic margarine tub, softer table spreads could be made with the maximum quantity of unsaturated liquid oil, bound to a minimum of hard fat. On the basis of the new scientific findings, sunflower oil, with its high linoleic acid content, was used to optimize blood lipid lowering. This product still exists. It has continuously remained on the market with scientific consensus. The composition, fat level, and the communication about the product has been adapted continuously. Notably, the
Shibamoto et al.; Functional Foods for Disease Prevention II ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1998.
24 concept of prevention against cardiovascular disease has also been brought up. The learnings from more than 35 years of marketing this "functional food" are:
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-be part of the science -stay in line with the scientific consensus -accept a long term development -communicate to key opinion formers and consumers separately -on pack claims are not the only way to communicate This brings me back to the issue of claims and messages. When using the word "claims", it will mean all communication regarding health around the product: advertising, leaflets to KOF's, and on pack messages, etc. Regulatory authorities and consumer associations will promote measures to prevent the misleading of consumers. Since misleading consumers will undoubtedly lead to confusion, this is also an important issue for any responsible industry. Regulators also want to avoid creating the false impression that "one product can cure". This is quite clearly a valid nutritional point, and one that should not be taken lightly. All regulatory solutions that have been proposed, have considered two routes. The 2 main routes in coming to a solution concerning regulatory issues are: either strict legislation, or a voluntary code of conduct. The U.S. has come to a legislative solution (positive list). In Japan, there is also a law permitting Foods for Special Health Use (FOSHU), when 8 criteria are satisfactorily met. In Europe, discussions on legislation have not yet led to an agreement. This situation has led to a kind of "vacuum". Consequently, this has led to initiatives to come to voluntary solutions (eg: a code of conduct). Discussions to come to a code of conduct have been initiated at many different levels: in individual food companies, by the industry associations, or by Nutrition Foundations. A code of conduct, preferably signed by food industries and consumer associations, should contain the following elements: -aframeworkwhich allows monitoring, and actions when non-compliance occurs -a description of the required scientific underpinning of a health claim An attempt was made to establish a code of conduct, by the Dutch Nutrition Foundation, based on preliminary work done by a number of important European food industries. In this proposal, the "Code of Conduct for Health Claims" is brought under the umbrella of the General Foods Advertising Code. This code is signed by the food industry, and the consumer association in the Netherlands. The courts may then take the content of the Code to a judge, on complaints. In this proposal, the scientific basis for a health claim should take into account the following four aspects: -there should be datafroma clinical trial on the product -the core result of such a clinical trial should have been confirmed at least once
Shibamoto et al.; Functional Foods for Disease Prevention II ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1998.
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-the results should be peer reviewed, both for their scientific content, as well as for the intended use -the scientific data should be publicly available at the moment of marketing the product
Downloaded by EAST CAROLINA UNIV on January 4, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: August 21, 1998 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1998-0702.ch004
These four points are found in other, previous, initiatives (eg: one from Sweden, indicating that there is a common basis for discussion among the parties having an interest in functional foods). It is expected that some sort of European solution will be reached in the coming years.
Shibamoto et al.; Functional Foods for Disease Prevention II ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1998.
