Food industry is challenged to produce food on basis of optimal nutrition concept

Food choice is increasingly being influenced by health issues, creating opportunities for new product development, say El and Simsek in a 2012 review. Food scientists call for “optimal nutrition,” as the optimization of a daily nutrition model with nutrients and bioactive compounds to prevent diseases an promote healthy life. [1]

Legal bases of health claims
The Food-Based Dietary Guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) 2003 should be the bases of all activities , such as the European Union (EU) legislation on health claims and compulsory nutrition facts label in many countries increase the consumer awareness of calories, content of fat, trans-fatty acids, carbohydrates and  salt. Australia and New Zealand, Canada, EU, India, Mexico, United States and others already implemented the nutritional label on foods.
The WHO dietary guidelines recommend the limitation of total fat intake <30%, saturated fats <10%, and simple carbohydrates <10% of total caloric intake. [2]

Similar data for healthy foods are supported by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity. [3]

Reducing energy density of foods
Reducing energy density of foods may be achieved by increasing water or air content, using intense sweeteners bulk agents, resistant starches, carbohydrate- and/or protein-based fat replacers. Other researches focus on energy reduction by the inhibition of enzymes in carbohydrate and/or fat digestion, but is limited to specific group of obese consumers.

Functional foods
Bioactive peptides are known to exert regulatory functions in humans. They are being  isolated from milk, eggs, meat, marine organisms, soy, wheat, broccoli, and rice. Some bioactive compounds are used to enrich foods or as supplements. Most prominents are: Coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, lignan, isothiocyanates, curcumin, isoflavone, resveratrol, lycopene, beta-glucan, inulin, omega-3 fatty acids, sterol and stanol.

However, much still remains to be done. The authors call on the food industry to reduce the number of energy-dense products, to reduce  salt, added sugar, trans-fatty acid, and saturated fat content in processed foods.

Food science and technology need to introduce these new food-based dietary guidelines focusing on  food physics, food storage and preservation, nutrient restoration and fortification of foods, and the development of designer foods and functional foods.

[1] Sedef Nehir El, Sebnem Simsek: Food Technological Applications for Optimal Nutrition: An Overview of Opportunities for the Food Industry. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. Volume 11, Issue 1, pages 2–12, January 2012
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2011.00167.x/full

[2] Diet, Nutrition and Prevention of Chronic Disease  WHO technical Report 916 Geneva 2003:  Population nutrient intake goals for preventing diet-related chronic diseases.
http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/who_fao_expert_report.pdf

[3] U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010.
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/PolicyDoc.pdf
Homepage of  Dietary Guidelines for Americans: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm