Smartfood

Author
Team Zorg Enablers
Published on
23-11-2018
Category
Trends | Prevention and Healthy living

 

“A man is what he eats”

Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach

Definition

Smartfood comprises technologies that help to increase people’s knowledge regarding healthy food, and contribute towards healthy eating habits.

 

Applications & benefits

Technological applications in the field of smartfood give consumers greater insight into what ingredients and how many calories their diet contains, and whether those ingredients contain any allergenic or toxic substances. Consumers can be warned about products’ expiry dates, for example, or informed about correct preparation methods. Meals or specific foodstuffs can be enriched (on a personalised basis) with health-promoting components and individual eating habits can, where appropriate, be adapted. If necessary, the food can even be printed, or smartfood can be used for healthy food concepts. This can stimulate healthy eating habits, and smartfood can contribute towards a person’s well-being and help prevent chronic diseases and other conditions [1].

 

Market

The field of smartfood is wide and it is still difficult to predict the future of smartfood applications. The global nutraceuticals market value is expected to be 297 billion USD in 2023, compared with just over 205 billion USD in 2016 [2], with functional foods representing a large share of the market [3]. The market for food scanners will see significant growth between now and 2024 [4].

 

Driving forces

Various factors are contributing to the growth of the smartfood market, including:

  • The ageing population, a worldwide increase in nutritionrelated chronic and other conditions, and increasing healthcare costs demanding innovative solutions that will promote health in a preventative and proactive manner [3,5,6]. Society is becoming more aware of what the human body needs, and of the negative effects of certain foodstuffs. The role of food is no longer simply to fill the stomach, but must also be healthy, tasty and promote physical and mental performance; in other words a custom-made diet [3]. This is how 95% of Dutch consumers see the role of nutrition in relation to their health, and over one in two consumers are prepared to pay more for foodstuffs if they can help prevent health problems [7].
  • The increasing use of high-end equipment, the advent of various technological movements such as the Internet of Things and Big Data, and advances in hardware and software are widening the potential for applications in the field of smartfood. It is becoming easier for consumers to assess the state of their health and to apply the necessary nutritional interventions. New knowledge in the field of nutrition and its effect on health, partly as a result of research in the area of nutritional genomics (incl. nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics) is contributing to the potential that personalised nutrition offers [3,4,8].
  • Increasingly stringent regulations for ingredients such as salt, sugar, fat, added colouring agents and preservatives in products, and for monitoring food safety, demand innovative and technological solutions [4,8].
  • The establishment of international joint ventures focusing on smartfood technology [9].

Changing healthcare needs
Increased awareness and growing acceptance
New technological capabilities

Hindering forces

Immaturity of the application
High costs (development, purchase, and maintenance)
Limiting guidelines, legislation and regulations

Significant growth is expected in the field of smartfood over the coming years, but there are still obstacles in this area that will have to be overcome. These obstacles include the fact that the relevant technology is still in its infancy, prices are high and there is a lack of knowledge among consumers regarding possibilities in the field of smartfood [4,7]. Furthermore, legislation and regulations make it difficult for smartfood applications to make their entrance into the market [5].

 

Conclusion

Nutrition is gaining a more prominent role in society and the importance of a healthy diet for good health is being increasingly recognised. It has been proposed that we move from the Quantified Self to the Quantified Meal [10]. It is clear that smartfood will contribute towards stimulating a healthy lifestyle and preventing chronic and other conditions.

References

  1. Idenburg P. et al. Zorg Enablers 2017: Technologische ontwikkelingen in de Westerse gezondheidszorg. December 2016
  2. Mordor Intelligence. Global Nutraceuticals Market – Growths, Trends and Forecasts (2018-2023). October 2017
  3. Grand View Research. Functional Foods Market Analysis By Product (Carotenoids, Dietary Fibers, Fatty Acids, Minerals, Prebiotics & Probiotics, Vitamins), By Application, By End-Use (Sports Nutrition, Weight Management, Immunity, Digestive Health) And Segment Forecasts, 2014 To 2024. November 2016
  4. Research Nester. Food Scanners Market : Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2024. September 2017
  5. KPMG. Nutraceuticals: The future of intelligent food. 2015
  6. Franklin M. Telenutrition: Reaching more people with technology. ASN. October 2017
  7. Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research. Thema-update Gezonde voeding: hard op weg naar eten op maat. December 2016
  8. Suter-Crazzlora C. How Tech Is Changing The Future Of Food. Digitalist Magazine. January 2017
  9. FoodSmartPhone [Internet]. [cited 2017 Oct 23]. Available from: http://www.foodsmartphone.eu/
  10. Van Noort. Je maaltijd doorlichten met je smartphone. NRC. January 2017.