ABSTRACT
Consumers around the globe are now more aware of the relation between nutrition and good health. This has led to a number of scientic studies identifying food and food components that have specic health benets. Functional foods are dened as foods that, in addition to nutrients, supply the organism with components that contribute to the cure of diseases, or to reduce the risk of developing them (Prado et al., 2008). One of the rst countries in the world to recognize the concept of functional foods was Japan. The Japanese government denes FOSHU (Foods for Specic Health Use) as Foods which are expected to have certain health benets, and have been licensed to bear a label in the product claiming the health effect (Sanders, 1998).
