Functional Foods: Some Pointers for Success

The FunctionalFoodNet (FFNet) project (January 2006-March 2008) was an information source on functional foods for food companies and especially for SMEs. It also networked companies and helped them explore business opportunities in functional foods. The FFNet website was an Information Centre on functional foods for companies and contained many outputs from functional foods research funded by the EU Commission under its Framework Programmes. Over 190 companies participated in FFNet. The FFNet website (www.functionalfoodnet.eu) will be closed in 2010 and some of its pages are reproduced here, notably the Functional Foods News page which contains 42 commissioned articles by experts on aspects of functional foods. The pages on (i) functional food projects funded by the EU, and (ii) key contact organisations/agencies in functional foods are listed in Appendices 1 and 2 respectively. Interactive workshops/meetings were the kernel of FFNet and served a dual function: (i) presentations by experts on recent developments in functional foods, and (ii) the companies had an excellent opportunity to interact with each other and to form new business associations/joint ventures on aspects of functional foods. FunctionalFoodNet was funded under the EU 6th Framework Programme and was coordinated by Finn Holm of Food Group Denmark with Ronan Gormley of UCD Institute of Food and Health, Dublin 4, and formerly of Teagasc Food Research Ashtown, Dublin 15 as assistant coordinator. The coordinator and assistant coordinator together with four other persons formed the Management Committee of the project.