FOSHU is intended for use for maintaining / strengthening health or special wellness purposes by people who want to monitor health conditions, including blood pressure or cholesterol in the blood.
To market food products as FOSHU, a food safety and health function effectiveness assessment is required, and the application must be approved by MHLW.
Examples of statements about the properties of FOSHU products:
-Calcium and osteoporosis: “The consumption of adequate amounts of calcium contained in healthy foods with appropriate exercise can support the bone health of young women and reduce the risk of osteoporosis in old age.”
-Folic acid and neural tube defect: “Consuming an adequate amount of folic acid contained in healthy foods can help a woman bear a healthy baby by reducing the risk of neural tube defect during fetal development.