CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The primary role of diet is to provide sufficient nutrient to meet the national requirement of an individual. There is now increasing scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that some food component have beneficial physiological and psychological effect occur and above the provision if the basic nutritional adequately to the concept of “positive” or optimal” nutrition, “potter 1998”

The research focus has shifted move to the identification of biologically active component in food that have the potential to optimal physical and mental well being and which many also reduce the risk of disease. Many traditional food product including fruit, vegetable, Soya all grains and milk have been found to contain component with potential health benefit. In addition to these foods, now foods are being developed to enhance or incorporate there beneficial component for their health benefit or desrable physiological effect “Abertet 1998”.

The concept of functional food was first introduced in Japan in the mild 1980s “Senders 1994” health authorized in Japan recognized that an improved quality of it must accompany increasing life expectancy for the expanding number of elderly people in the population if health care cost wee to be controlled. The concept of food that was developed specifically to promote health or reduce the risk of disease was introduced.

The term functional food now refer to processed food containing ingredient that aid specific bodily functions in addition to being nutrition. “Alman et al 1995”. To date, Japan is the only country that has formulated a specific regulatory approval process for functional foods.

“Foshu” i.e food for specified health use, currently, 100 product are licensed as FOSHU foods in Japan “Arai 1995”. The roles of functional foods are disease prevention and health promotion. In the united state, the functional foods categorist not recognized legally. In respect of this, many organization have proposed definition for the new and emerging area of the food and nutrition science. The institute of medicines food and nutrition board “IOM/FND, 1994”, defined functional food as “any food or food ingredient that man provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrient it contains. 

Health conscious baby consumers have made functional food the leading trend in the US food industry “Meyer, 1998” 

This food provide the health benefit beyond basic nutrition due to certain physiological active component, which may or may not have been manipulated or modified to enhance their bioactivity. Many of these foods also help prevent disease, reduce the risk of developing disease, or enhance health consumers interest in functional food increased during the late twentieth century as people interest in achieving and maintaining good health increased “Aderson et al 1997”

Health conscious consumers have become aware of the health benefit associated with specific foods and are incorporating element such as fiber calcium, and soya into thief diets. Rapid advances in food science and technology have increase population. The rapid rise in health care cost this population.

There is a difference between the western and eastern perspective on functional foods.