Functional dairy ingredients

The consumers at present are aware that choices on food will affect their health positively or negatively according to their composition and amount consumed. World food industry is conscious of this phenomenon, and during the last two decades it has invested all its efforts in research and development of healthier and more nutritious foods. Around the world, there are several types of products available on the markets named by the main academic and industrial research community as “functional foods”. Nevertheless, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, there are different perspectives on this concept. In the USA, for example, the term of functional foods is replaced by “nutraceuticals”. In general, these foods can be defined as “foods/ingredients that specifically and actively contribute (have a function) to a state of good health”.