The Flap Over Functional Foods

In early June 2001, the Food and Drug Administration announced the issuance of warning letters to a number of food companies selling beverages containing herbal ingredients, a form of functional food. At the IFT Annual Meeting in late June, the halls were abuzz with conversation and speculation about what all this “sudden” FDA activity might mean. What was new about this action? When the history is examined, not too much is really new, but some things are worth noting.

Functional foods provide th…