In Japan, there is a system in place called ‘Foods with Function Claims’. This system basically requires that if a food company wants to make a claim about the specific benefits of a foodstuff, it must be supported by scientific evidence. This is an important initiative for a wide variety of reasons. For instance, people taking foodstuffs that are not supported by scientific evidence might well decide not to take supplements with genuine benefits because they believe they are already taking adequate steps. To comply with the ‘Foods with Function Claims’ system, companies rely on the work of researchers to determine whether what they are claiming is supported by scientific evidence. Dr Sachie Nakatani leads a team based at Josai University in Japan, which is investigating a wide range of different foodstuffs to determine whether they have genuine health benefits.
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