ABSTRACT
The role of diet in disease prevention and treatment is being recognized increasingly, although traditionally food products have been developed for taste, appearance, value, and convenience to the consumer. This has motivated the food industry and companies involved in formulating health foods into new areas of research, such as health risk, risk benefit analysis, evaluation of efficacy and toxicity, and health regulations (1). Regulations governing the nutrient content of food and health protection within legislation have often been viewed as barriers to product development and economic growth (2). According to Rowland (3), food regulations have generally been viewed negatively by many consumers, suggesting that government legislation is detrimental to the pursuit of appropriate food choices for health. The health agencies, on the other hand, insist that newly developed food products should have the well-determined active component(s) in the natural product evaluated for effectiveness in human trials. Such quality-control measures are essential for both consumers and product developers (1).
