SUMMARY OF ARTICLE

ABSTRACT

Functional dairy foods in recent years have become part of our vocabulary and part of our daily menu. Functional food constitutes the fastest growing segment of the world food market. The concept of “functional food” was first introduced in Japan in the year 1980. Functional foods are part of the daily diet, which when ingested, should accomplish certain physiological functions such as improvement of biological defence mechanisms, prevention from specific disease, physical and mental health management, slow down the ageing process etc. Dairy products can be termed functional through addition of functional ingredients like probiotic organisms, prebiotic, fibres, herbs, bioactive peptides, omega-3 fatty acids, etc. The development of the different types of functional dairy foods provide a unique opportunity of selective choice for consumers but only a sound scientifically validated health claim will guarantee its success.