On the 29th of November, 2022 the Royal Society of Medicine, London UK, hosted a meeting entitled:
“Dietary supplements, 'functional' and 'super' foods: Science, regulations and roles in the diet”.
The meeting was co-organized by Julian Stowell, Science Committee Member of the Sabri Ülker Foundation and David Mela, formerly of Unilever. The meeting was sponsored by the Sabri Ülker Foundation.
The primary purpose of the event was to review the status of dietary supplements, ‘functional’ and ‘super’ foods with a particular emphasis on the situation in Europe.
Presenters reviewed the steps required to secure regulatory approval for this category of foods and ingredients, including the scientific evidence required to establish health and/or nutrition claims. The potential role of food supplements in public health and restrictive diets was then discussed in detail with a specific presentation on the experience of supplement use in clinical practice. Consumer behaviour with regard to supplements was analysed and a perspective was given on ‘functional’ and ‘super’ foods.
The proceedings have been published as an Open Science Framework narrative, accessible via the following link:
It is hoped that this narrative will be regarded as a balanced perspective on dietary supplements, ‘functional’ and ‘super’ foods.
