Functional Foods Flounder

Sprinkle in a multivitamin into a box of Fruit Loops, then suddenly it turns from a dye and sugar fiesta, into an important part of a balanced breakfast.

But this idea … of spiking food with individual elements such as omega-3 fatty acids … is running into trouble.

One UK food company has removed the omega-3 component from its Vitality yoghurt range, citing confusion and scepticism toward fortified foods. In other words, they don’t think it matters to you and me as a selling gimmick.

The massive Unilever company has also withdrawn drinking and spoonable yoghurt lines from its Omega-3 Plus in European markets; only the omega-3 spread remains.

According to New Nutrition Business magazine in an editorial this month, “Once the darling of the functional food sector, omega-3 enrichment is no longer the irresistible business proposition that, to some, it appeared to be.”

This is good news, not because of the nutritional validity of what they are doing. It is great news because it means that people are becoming more savvy to silliness, and more likely to eat foods that are normal. Consumers are tired of the search for the magic bullet that will save them, the product that they must consume every day for optimal health, and more likely to turn to a process of living well every day.

And that is some good news!!