Sustainability and functional foods: challenges and opportunities

The overexploitation of ecosystems due to the incessant increase in food demand is depleting natural resources. At this point, the market segment for functional foods is aligned with the new sustainable practices that attempt to reverse this situation through research and development of alternative production strategies. These include exploring the still little-known marine ecosystem as a source of novel nutraceuticals, the use of agrifood waste generated in food processing, and the promotion of energy efficient crops capable of resisting environmental stress conditions. In addition, the classic production protocols, together with the associated technologies, are being replaced by more efficient and environmentally friendly ones. Therefore the future of functional foods will revolve around development protocols with a lower environmental impact and the use of available resources in order to reduce the carbon footprint.