Editing Functional food (section)

{{Short description|Food modified for a presumed health benefit}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
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A '''functional food''' is a [[food]] claimed to have an additional benefit beyond just [[nutrition]] (often one related to [[health promotion]] or [[disease prevention]]) by modifying the [[horticulture|cultivation]] of the native food or by [[food additive|adding ingredients]] during manufacturing.<ref name="sloan">{{cite magazine|date=4 April 2025|magazine=Food Technology Magazine, Institute of Food Technology|author=Sloan AE|title=The Top 10 Functional Food Trends|access-date=18 April 2025|url=https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2025/april/features/the--top-10-functional-food--trends}}</ref> 

The term applies to traits purposely [[plant breeding|bred]] into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having increased [[anthocyanin]] or [[carotenoid]] contents, respectively.<ref name="usda">{{cite web | url=https://agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov/2014/nov/potatoes | title=Delicious, Nutritious, and a Colorful Dish for the Holidays! | publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, AgResearch Magazine | date=November 2014 | access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> Functional food manufacturing has the intent "to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part of a regular diet".<ref>{{cite web|title=Basics about Functional Food|publisher=US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service|url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/00000000/NPS/FinalFunctionalFoodsPDFReadVersion6-25-10.pdf|date=July 2010}}</ref>

The term also applies to [[food processing]] practices which include ingredients purposely added with the intent to improve the food health value and for marketing to specific consumer groups.<ref name=sloan/>

The term was first used in the 1980s in [[Japan]], where a government approval process for functional foods called ''Foods for Specified Health Use'' (FOSHU) exists.<ref>{{cite web | title=FOSHU, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan | agency= Government of Japan | url=http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/foodsafety/fhc/02.html}}</ref>