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Functional foods from biotech—an unappetizing prospect?

Nature Biotechnology volume 25, pages 525–531 (2007)Cite this article

In the early 1990s, functional foods promised to solve global malnutrition and put palatable options for treating ailments on grocery shelves. Since then, a meager number of products have ripened while the rest have turned sour.

Functional foods were once touted as the next wave in the food and beverage industries. Yet as these products—defined as “any modified food or food ingredient that may provide a healthful benefit beyond that of the traditional nutrients it contains”1—have begun to make their way to customers' carts, they have suffered some major setbacks and disappointing flops.

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Figure 1: Field of dreams?

Source: Monsanto, St. Louis, MO, USA

Figure 2: An appetizing dose?

Source: Efficas, Boulder, CO, USA

Figure 3: Public perception of food safety.
Figure 4: Biofortification efforts.

IStockphoto.com

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  1. Kendall Powell is a freelance writer based in Boulder, Colorado. kendall2@nasw.org,

    Kendall Powell

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Powell, K. Functional foods from biotech—an unappetizing prospect?. Nat Biotechnol 25, 525–531 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0507-525

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