Healthy eating to boost food industry

FOODS that claim to promote human health represent tremendous potential for adding value to the Irish food industry, an international conference was told in Dublin yesterday.

Professor Paul Ross of Teagasc Moorepark said the Irish market for functional foods is valued at €12 million today, but it could grow to €245m within five years.

“Increasing scientific evidence and consumer awareness of the links between diet and health is fuelling a buoyant market for functional foods,” he told the conference on the science of food safety and nutrition.

Organised by Teagasc’s Ashtown Food Research Centre, it is the final in a series of six conferences held across Europe in the past three years by the European Union Risk Analysis Information Network.