Page 29 - Food&Drink magazine April-May 2023

overwhelming. In another, it opens up a whole new product category: “naturally nutritious foods with function”.
NATURALLY FUNCTIONAL
Functional foods predominantly have been the territory of processed, formulated foods, with specific ingredients added for a specific purpose. Infant formula is a perfect example of an ultra-processed food product, comprised of at least 20 functional ingredients formulated with nutrition and health outcomes in mind.
But if “nutrient function” is now becoming part of the “functional food” criteria, then this allows unprocessed/less processed foods to also possibly be marketed as “functional foods”.
Fruits, vegetables, milk, lean animal proteins (e.g. steak, chicken, fish) are all one ingredient foods. A banana is a banana. Milk is milk. Oats are oats. Eye fillet steak, a part of the tenderloin muscle, is still just steak.
These one ingredient natural whole foods are not based on a formulation that includes functional ingredients, and historically have precluded functional health claims. Until know.
Our understanding of nutritional science is spanning into bioactive components and nutritional composition including nutrient-nutrient interactions and the role of the food matrix on absorption.
Oats are a great example of a naturally nutritious food with function. They are a source of beta-glucan, a soluble fibre naturally occurring in the cell wall of the oat grain, that has numerous bioactive functions in the body including decreasing cholesterol, improving insulin resistance, and is currently being assessed for its immune supporting anti-cancer properties. Oats could be the Rolls Royce of breakfast cereals due to it’s innate functional properties.
Milk is another example of a
naturally nutritious food where nutrient-nutrient interactions affect function. The bioavailability of magnesium and calcium in milk is actually enhanced due to the presence of lactose (milk carbohydrate) and casein (a type of milk protein).
from the food they eat. Healthspan – the time in an
individual’s life where they experience good health – is fast replacing lifespan, the length of time one is alive.
Nearly 40 years after “functional food” was first
“ We are moving into an era where it is also essential to know if that nutrient is both bioaccessible (i.e. released from the food matrix and ready
to be absorbed) and bioavailable (i.e. has been absorbed and able to be used by the body).”
Galactooligosaccharides, a type of prebiotic (beneficial gut bacteria food) is also derived from lactose, and has a beneficial effect on the gut microbiome. Clearly functional evaluation is just as important as nutritional composition and safety evaluation.
Functional foods are here to stay because consumers expect more than just a full stomach
coined, our understanding of nutrition in health has increased, and with it so too has the opportunities for researchers and commercialisation to come together in the creation of formulated functional foods while also identifying naturally nutritious foods with function.
And just like Coca-cola, when we know better, we have the opportunity to do better. ✷
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | April/May 2023 | Food&Drink business | 29
FUNCTIONAL FOODS