ABSTRACT
It is well known that the functional foods market is growing rapidly in most countries and regions of the world and is expected to continue growing in the future until people’s concern for better quality of life is met. It is obviously consumers’ concern for health maintenance and well-being that drives the growth of the functional foods market. Factors affecting the demand for functional lipids may not be significantly different from those for functional foods. With people’s concern for health, socioeconomic changes in population age profile, life expectancy, medical conditions, and levels of health support are factors that shape the trends in the consumption of functional lipids [1]. Factors critical to the success of functional lipids include product quality (especially taste), safety, advertising or proof of efficacy, pricing,
and market positioning. The functional lipids market, like those of other functional foods, is undoubtedly developing strongly in most countries, and the future of functional lipids will depend, at least in part, on convincing consumers that fats and oils have positive roles in health maintenance.
