Claire M. Hasler, Ph.D.

A Publication of the Institute of Food Technologists Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition The tenet “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” espoused by Hippocrates nearly 2,500 years ago, is receiving renewed interest. In particular, there has been an explosion of consumer interest in the health enhancing role of specific foods or physiologically-active food components, so-called functional foods (Hasler, 1998). Clearly, all foods are functional, as they provide taste, aroma, or nutritive value. Within the last decade, however, the term functional as it applies to food has adopted a different connotation — that of providing an additional physiological benefit beyond that of meeting basic nutritional needs. This Scientific Status Summary reviews the literature for the primary plant and animal foods that …