Overview of functional foods: Emphasis on probiotic bacteria

Foods which promote health beyond providing basic nutrition are termed 'functional foods'. These foods have potential to promote health in ways not anticipated by traditional nutrition science. The international marketplace is the development ground for these products, even though scientific or regulatory consensus on their definition or significance has not been advanced. This article defines, provides examples of, discusses the consumer interest in, and considers the difficulty of developing scientific substantiation for effectiveness of functional foods. Probiotic bacteria are specifically used as an example in scientific approaches toward determining efficacy. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.