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Functional foods can be devilishly difficult to define.
Not surprisingly, consumers are confused. Even fewer can correctly define these terms. This low level of awareness is due in part to the industry s treatment of functional foods compared to conventional foods. At Promar International, we define functional foods broadly to include dietary supplements, as well as foods and beverages that claim or suggest to consumers specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition, including preventing or curing a disease. Excluded from this definition are dietary supplements consumed in forms atypical of foods such as capsules, tablets, and tinctures.