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Current development of functional foods in Japan for Asian markets |
K. SHINOHARA, Food Functionality Div., National Food Research Institute, 2-1-12 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8642, Japan Recently, the demands of consumer for healthier foods or food ingredients have been rising drastically to improve health and to prevent diseases in Japan. National scale of projects carried out by Japanese universities on the research of nutritional, sensory and bio-modulating functionality of foods had produced the concept of " Functional Foodsh; those are now recognized in worldwide. In 1991, an approval system for licensing the "Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU)" was introduced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (now renamed as Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. A FOSHU is defined as "a food which is, based on the knowledge concerning the relationship between foods or food components and health, expected to have certain health benefit, and has been licensed to bear a label claiming that a person who uses it for specified health use may expect to obtain the health use through the consumption thereof". At present, food industries market over 300 FOSHU products in the following categories of functions, 1) maintaining a good gastrointestinal function, 2) reducing high blood cholesterol levels, 3) reducing neutral fats, 4) lowering hypertension, 5) reducing blood glucose, 6) improving mineral absorption, 7) cavity prevention, and 8)reducing hyperglycemia. Those markets are now counted over 4 billion dollars in Japan. Among them, prebiotics and probiotics, peptides and teas produced largest markets now. In April 2001, the government established a new system regulating foods with health claims, in which FOSHU system and the foods with nutrient function claims (vitamins and minerals) are included.
Session 81, Development of functional food and natural health food products for Asian markets
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