Controversies and uncertainties on health claims for functional foods in Brazil

In spite of the lack of international agreement concerning to the term Functional foods, they represent one of the food sectors with more significant growth in global markets and at the same time one of the most controversial area situated between the food-and-drug boundaries. Claims that functional foodstuffs improve health and the sensation of well-being, and that they contribute towards the reduction of the risk of certain diseases, blur the boundaries between food and drugs (Heasman e Mellantin, 2001). At the same time, specialists warn that there is little understanding concerning the conditions functional foods are being consumed; if the target groups are actually reached. They argue some questions: To whom are functional foods intended? These kinds of food do what they are supposed to do? How much and how long people should consume them to get any health benefits? Furthermore, which are the cumulative effects of their continuous use? A nutrient used as part of treatment of a specific disease should be considered as a medication?

In this paper we analyze the conditions for the emergence of the concept of functional food, the arguments in favor and against the functional foods and the results of an empirical research that took place in Florianopolis, Brazil.

Through 06 focus groups questionnaire and individual interviews applied to patients, we analyzed the perceptions about the role of food in the health-illness process; who guides the alimentary changes; the difficulties to carry out these changes; the strategies used to combine individual will and medical recommendations; the perceptions on the scientific controversies and uncertainties related to the food and health and food as a medication. It was identified the importance of the scientific knowledge in the standardization of the dietary models and in the characterization of what it means to have a "healthy life".