"Functional Foods" Will 'Explode' in New Century

September 9, 1999

American Farm Bureau Federation's Stewart Truelsen says functional foods -- foods that provide benefits in addition to basic nutrition and may prevent disease or promote health -- are "ready to explode" in overall volume and number in the next century.

Functional foods aren't new: iodized salt was introduced early in this century to prevent goiter from a deficiency of iodine in the diet. Calcium fortified orange juice was introduced in the mid-1980s. More recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved "Take Control," a margarine containing soy extracts, designed to help control blood cholesterol.

In the book "2025, Scenarios of U.S. Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology," the authors predict that functional foods will be one of the most significant dietary trends of the next 25 years. A 1998 survey commissioned by the International Food Information Council founds 91% of consumers want to learn more about functional foods and are willing to change their diets to include them. Women in particular were more aware of functional foods and likely to trust the benefits.

The authors of "2025" predict a boom in gourmet, organic, specialty crop and niche crop farming. They call it a "high payoff business" that will operate alongside the production of other crops.