Scope and Current Status of Functional Foods: The SDGs Perspective

To live in this world in a better way, all resources of livelihood should be accessible for sound health and wealth. By keeping this aspect in mind, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) initiated the terminology of sustainable development goals in 2015, replacing the model of millennium development goals (MDGs) that were started in early 2000. This chapter describes the targeted areas of different sustainable development goals (SDGs) that were initiated by UNGA and certain indicators of each goal with the aims of being implemented and accomplished by the year 2030. In this chapter, different functional foods and their bio-active components are described. Further, the current growth trends of different functional foods that are produced and consumed in the global market system are also summarized in this context. The regulatory framework for the production of functional foods in different countries and certain policies on functional foods along with their health effects are also described. The chapter concludes with a remark that consumption of functional food, within limits, in a regular diet is a viable option to meet the goals of sustainable development, especially in combatting hunger and malnutrition.