Functional Foods of Animal Origin

Scientific evidence concerning the benefits and risks associated with particular aspects of dietary compounds is having an increasingly profound impact on consumer''s approach to nutrition. There is a growing awareness that many chronic diseases are connected to an unbalanced diet and consumers are beginning to believe that diet has a powerful influence on health and wellbeing. Furthermore, numerous studies have sought to demonstrate the possibility of changing the image of animal products from the traditionally accepted image to one of healthy living. Besides the traditional presentations, there are a number of ways in which the animal products sector can modify the qualitative and quantitative composition of animal product components and produce designer foods with specific properties. This entails addressing quality factors associated with different product properties, nutritional value and their effects on physiological function and health. Thus in addition to disease prevention, the idea of using food for health purposes rather than for nutrition opens up a whole new field in the animal products sector