Certain fruits are undeniably good at grabbing headlines. Packed with antioxidants and fibres and brimming with sex appeal, so-called 'super fruits' - from goji berries to cranberries - are loved by celebrities and nutritionists alike. But will they prove equally adept at demonstrating their myriad health benefits to regulators as the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation kicks in?

We used to call it puppy fat. If you were a fat toddler, you wouldn't necessarily become a fat adult: now, you probably would," says Dr Atul Singhal, a consultant paediatrician and advisor to the UK's Infant and Toddler Forum, set up last year to supplement health professionals' diet of glossy nutritional advice from manufacturers with some impartial, albeit less consumer-friendly science.

Can we choose to eat foods that will substantially reduce our risk of developing cancer? If so, which foods, which cancers, and what's the evidence? Is it strong enough, for instance, to make a health claim under the new European Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation? Well, not yet. But one day soon, perhaps.

Earlier this year, the European Commission announced its intention to dish out €114M to the Irish government for dairy development projects under its AgriVision 2015 Action Plan. The Republic has spawned an enviable catalogue of home grown talent over the years, such as Glanbia Nutritionals, Carbery Ingredients and Kerry Ingredients, which explains why the EC singled out Ireland for this particular sum. The aim is to position the country at the forefront of added-value dairy products, and that includes improving whey protein concentrate production.

People who eat more whole grain foods are less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. The data supporting this statement are mostly from detailed analyses of large-scale population (epidemiological) studies carried out in the US and Europe, which show very strong inverse relationships between whole grain consumption and risk of disease - in other words the more whole grains consumed, the lower the risk of disease.

Europe might be the biggest market for functional foods in value terms, worth over $90bn and commanding a 39% share of global value sales, but that doesn't mean the market is saturated. The continent has seen sales of functional foods grow by 40% in the last five years, which puts it well ahead of the average and there's still a huge appetitie for innovation.

The European dairy market encompasses many and various products, some of which are quite specific to individual countries (quark, cheddar cheese, petits suisses, pap and vla). Generally, dairy products fall under the following headings:

For someone without a scientific background, having to wax lyrical about metabolic pathways and the merits of different long-chain fatty acids was a bit of a culture shock for Jeff Bernfeld when he arrived at Martek Biosciences in January. But whether you need a degree in chemistry to understand your products or not, you are still running a business, he says. "The science and the clinical research underpinning everything Martek does are incredibly important, but someone, at some point, has got to pay for your products."

Whether it's poisoning our kids with additives, fiddling with plant genes or sending us all to an early grave with a touch of partial hydrogenation, the food industry is public enemy number one for the media. And who is wheeled out to defend it?

Set amid acres of farmland in France's Nord Pas-de-Calais region, Roquette's gargantuan starch processing facility in Lestrem dominates the local landscape to such an extent that it has even diverted a river in order to expand its industrial empire.

Diogenes, the Cynic, was a Greek philosopher. Born about 400 years BC, he was a beggar who lived in the streets of Athens and made a virtue of extreme poverty. He is said to have been an austere ascetic, railing against the consumer society of his day, "his clothing of the coarsest, his food the plainest, and his bed the bare ground".

Few market researchers would dispute that 'mood foods' could deliver big bucks for the food industry, says Dr Mike Green, a former clinical psychologist at Unilever. But research in this emerging field is still embryonic, despite a steady stream of product launches claiming to boost children's exam results, calm nerves after a long day, or re-energise weary grey matter.

The statistics are simply staggering: 8,000 functional ingredients approved for use by 400,000 food manufacturers employing 10M distributors to feed 1.3bn people who are buying in to a $12bn health food market. It's a long way from the rice and chopsticks austerity of the Mao era. Today's Beijing shopper might peddle to the local store on one of the city's 9M bikes, but he'll stop for a Starbucks and Big Mac on the way and bring back Yakult with the ginseng root.

When the European Commission's long-awaited White Paper on nutrition, overweight and obesity was finally published on May 30, many thought it would deliver a significant step towards solving the obesity crisis across Europe.

UK farmers' co-op First Milk is moving into the functional ingredients market with the launch of a heat and acid stable galacto-oligosaccharide prebiotic made from milk, which it claims helps to stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Kerry Biosciences has created Myvatex Spread Control - a trans-fat free emulsifier for low-fat spreads and margarines.

Sugar-free gum grew by 14% in Russia, 18% in France and 34% in Turkey in 2006, according to Palatinit, which makes sugar replacer Isomalt.

Nearly a quarter of all new product launches in Europe in the past three years contained a "low" claim (eg. low fat, low salt), with particularly rapid growth in central and eastern Europe, said Mintel. The number of probiotic launches was up 65% and prebiotics up 168% over the same period.

Slovenian firm Vitiva has developed Inolens 12, a natural antioxidant designed to extend the shelf-life of chocolate products by up to 30%.

Tate & Lyle has entered the burgeoning dietary fibres market with Promitar resistant starch, which it claims survives better than rival products in extreme process conditions. Owing to its superior process stability, it can also be used in smaller quantities, added Tate & Lyle, which is now working with Leatherhead Food International to determine Promitar's prebiotic qualities.

The word 'sustainable' doesn't really mean much to consumers. What does mean something to them are brands that they recognise as being responsible partners in society - the ones that help them to do the right thing. They are seen as modern, aware, quality brands that they can trust.

Pregnant and breast-feeding women are being targeted with functional foods as evidence of the link between maternal nutrition and children's long-term development strengthens.

The dietary supplements market in Poland is set to grow 20% by 2009, more than doubling in size from 2005.

Burcon Nutrascience is preparing to make a Novel Food application to gain regulatory approval to use its canola proteins Puratein and Supertein in Europe.

Competition is hotting up in the salt reduction stakes with a series of new products hitting the market claiming to help manufacturers replicate both the flavour and technical functions of salt.

Sports nutrition companies can break into the mainstream food and drinks market if they re-educate consumers - particularly women - about the merits of protein, experts have predicted.

The extra mile

One of the biggest costs for small businesses trying to get to grips with the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation was the initial failure of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to provide regulatory guidance for submissions under article 13 of the Regulation (which covers claims supported by generally accepted science).

DSM Nutritional Products has launched a new strategy to boost its bottom line through "accelerated innovation, enhancement of differentiation activities and cost reductions". Costs will be cut via new IT systems, manufacturing improvements, more efficient purchasing and the streamlining of business processes.

Orafti's Beneo Synergy1 (inulin enriched with oligofructose) will be used in a study exploring the effects of prebiotic infant formula on the development of the neonatal immune system and the incidence of allergy in infants as part of the EU-funded Earnest project. It is also the subject of a new US trial to evaluate its ability to reduce the risk of colon cancer in combination with probiotics.

Israeli carotenoids specialist LycoRed is promising to take microencapsulation to a new level with the launch of breakthrough technology for coating unstable functional ingredients. Its "next generation" technology, scheduled for launch in 2008, will enable manufacturers to add bioactive ingredients and vitamins to a far broader range of products, said microencapsulation global manager Shai Karlinski.

Piglets whose mothers get their heads into the trough once too often might help dieticians predict which mothers will give birth to children at risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

LycoRed is looking for potential acquisitions or joint venture opportunities in a bid to expand its carotenoid empire. Udi Alroy, vice president of global sales and marketing, said: "We are generating growth by broadening the range of applications for lycopene and encapsulated vitamins and minerals.

LycoRed is in advanced negotiations with manufacturers interested in using glutamic acid from tomato juice - a waste product of lycopene production - as a flavour enhancer.

Hundreds of flavourings may have to be reassessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after it emerged that statistical models used to evaluate their safety could be significantly underestimating daily intake levels.

LycoRed is still waiting for the regulatory thumbs up to use its lycopene oleoresin in food applications in Europe under the Novel Food Regulation, almost three years after it submitted its application.

Global food and drink companies will continue to gobble up smaller nutriscience companies in the coming year, according to Dr Seth Taylor, principal of life sciences advisory firm TSG Partners.

There is growing evidence that low-carb diets are bad for your health, according to experts on gut microflora.

Cognis has revealed plans to make a Novel Food application later this summer to use safflower-derived CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) in food and drink just weeks after rival Lipid Nutrition announced its own application plans. This has created the unusual situation of two Novel Food applications for what is effectively the same product at exactly the same time.

The European market for omega-3 fish oils could be wiped out overnight unless regulators change EU hygiene laws, suppliers have warned.

The company behind one of the most promising new entrants to the burgeoning weight management ingredients market is preparing to make a Novel Food application to gain entry into the European market.

DSM Food Specialties is launching a three-pronged attack on metabolic syndrome with new ingredients tackling type 2 diabetes and heart disease to complement its weight management ingredient Fabuless.