To circumvent the strict safety and labeling requirements of conventional foods and drugs, manufacturers can opt to market functional foods as dietary supplements. If marketed as a dietary supplement rather than a food, functional foods with ingredients that aren't considered safe by the FDA can be sold, and there is no obligation to state the amount of added ingredients on the label. The FDA's only ability to regulate these foods is to prove a product unsafe or falsely labeled in the courts - after they have already been placed on the market. Some manufacturers will go to great lengths to make sure their products are safe and truthfully labeled, but there are many more that do not. Ninety-five percent of functional foods are not clinically tested by manufacturers, but make label claims despite lack of scientific evidence, according to Foundation of Innovation in Medicine.
Experts warn that herbs, a common ingredient in functional foods, are just as powerful as drugs.
But drugs, because of their physiologic activity in the body, are subjected to rigid safety testing by FDA before they can be purchased. Certain functional food ingredients are backed by significant scientific consensus for their health benefits. But if only a trace amount of the ingredient is added to a food, it will have absolutely no effect. When specific ingredient amounts aren't listed on labels, consumers have no way of knowing if they're getting what they paid for. In either case, your money is wasted.