Considerations for the successful development and launch of personalised nutrigenomic foods

The idea that diet and health are related is not new but the concept of direct nutrient–gene interactions is a new one for the food industry and the public to deal with. The ultimate goal of nutrigenomics is the development of foods that can be matched to individual human genotypes in order to benefit the health of those individuals. This paper discusses how personalised, nutrigenomic foods might be developed. Early results from research into food fractions that have the potential to ameliorate Crohn's disease are presented along with illustrations of candidate foods. Issues covering food customisation, consumer response and the ethics of genetic testing for food selection are also discussed briefly.