In order to supplement the usual diet, sometimes humans who need medical care are advised to take certain kind of Food supplements which are generally referred as Health Functional Foods (HFF). To enhance and safeguard human health, these functional foods are set to contain certain nutrients and substances in a more concentrated form which intend to have benefits beyond basic nutritional effects and tend to minimize the risk of diseases to improve human health conditions. These Health Functional Foods are marketed in measured doses in the form of pills, tablets, capsules and liquids and are categorized into generic and product-specific.
Health Claims: To market the health functional foods, manufacturers must get approvals from region-specific health authorities wherein the concerned health authority validates manufacturer’s health claims and guides them to implement certain standards for HFF labeling or impose restrictions on usage. These claims can be categorized into functional nutrient function claims, other function claims and disease risk claims.
Health Functional Food Act: In the US, the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act authorized FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to regulate the health claims. Likewise, Health/Functional Food Act came into effect in 2002 in Korea which authorized the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS [ex-KFDA {Korean Food and Drug Administration}]) to give pre-market approval for HFF.
To sail through a smooth approval process, HFF manufacturers must require a clear-cut knowledge over various functional ingredients that the concerned health authority mandates to utilize apart from HFF Acts and various categories of health claims.
To get more insights on Health Functional Foods with respect to the Korean landscape, register your spot for an exclusive live webinar on 8th December, 2016, 09:00 AM EST | 06:00 AM PST | 02:00 PM UK.
