Its better to test for sub chronic toxicity

As a matter of facts that claims of functional foods has been so diverse which may also include the source of the functional compounds and purity itself right from the acquisition up to the final products preparations,  and hence, toxicity test is deemed necessary.

I think depending on which ingredient you are testing, but usually to prove if besides functional, your ingredient is also safe, toxicity test is needed.

Toxity studies are required for all types of foods, including functional foods. Special studies are not required, because formally functional food does not exist.

DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE ORIGIN, PRODUCTION, COMPOSITITION ETC..NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTIC, AND PRIOR EXPOSURE TO THE NOVEL FOOD IS REQIURED.. THE EUROPAN NOVEL FODDS LEGISLATION IN MAY 1997 ESTABLISHED THE NEED FOR DETERMINING SAFETY OF EXOTIC FRUITS AND VEGETABLES INTRODUCED TO EUROPE AFTER THIS DDATE.

If you use GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) ingredients, such tests are not necessary. 

The best place to find out is to contact your government regulating body such as FDA in US and TGA in Australia... Check with them before you proceed any further as every country has slightly different regulations.

One of the basic steps you should follow during the development of a functional food is the assessment of safety and activity of the bioactive compounds confering the functional role to the food concerned. In that essence, it is necessary to study the potential sub-chronic toxicity of the compounds used and/or use any available publications to international scientific journals (SCI) in order to prove that safety aspect.

DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE ORIGIN, PRODUCTION, COMPOSITITION ETC..NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTIC, AND PRIOR EXPOSURE TO THE NOVEL FOOD IS REQIURED.. THE EUROPAN NOVEL FODDS LEGISLATION IN MAY 1997 ESTABLISHED THE NEED FOR DETERMINING SAFETY OF EXOTIC FRUITS AND VEGETABLES INTRODUCED TO EUROPE AFTER THIS DDATE.

Are toxicity studies required for functional foods? - ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_toxicity_studies_required_for_functional_foods#view=55954ce65dbbbd1c248b45e5 [accessed Jul 6, 2015].

It depends on the type of functional ingredient in the food. Lots of phytochemicals are considered to be such functional but their side effects are still not clear in long term and they better to be under toxicity objective and subjective test controls.

The analysis should not do in the functional food per se, maybe the toxicity studies should be with the phytochemicals/antioxidants which containts or where added. 

Yes, as you are developing a new product sub- chronic toxicity study is necessary to ensure safety.

In order to establish safety of the functional food, long-term toxicity studies in rodent and non-rodent species of experimental animals are required. The functional food is mixture of many ingredients thus it is difficult to theoretically predict its beneficial (may be toxic) effect without a controlled study.  

Yes it does, for any food safety is the priority compared to the nutritional value!

Yes I thing toxicity studies is required for any functional food please go through below information.

Although "increasing the availability of healthful foods, including functional foods, in the American diet is critical to ensuring a healthier population" (ADA, 1995), safety is a critical issue. The optimal levels of the majority of the biologically active components currently under investigation have yet to be determined. In addition, a number of animal studies show that some of the same phytochemicals (e.g., allyl isothiocyanate) highlighted in this review for their cancer-preventing properties have been shown to be carcinogenic at high concentrations (Ames et al., 1990). Thus, Paracelsus' 15th century doctrine that "All substances are poisons . . . the right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy" is even more pertinent today given the proclivity for dietary supplements.

The benefits and risks to individuals and populations as a whole must be weighed carefully when considering the widespread use of physiologically-active functional foods. For example, what are the risks of recommending the increased intake of compounds (e.g., isoflavones) that may modulate estrogen metabolism? Soy phytoestrogens may represent a "double-edged sword" because of reports that genistein may actually promote certain types of tumors in animals (Rao et al., 1997). Knowledge of toxicity of functional food components is crucial to decrease the risk

Yes it does because, because food safety is needed for every type of food and it'd ensure the functional aspect..as we know that functional food has to give not only nutrition for body, but also give some advantages to ur body, such as boost ur immune system, etc..

I'd say that definitely yes. Though many people thinks that, as are foods, no toxicological analysis is needed, the high concentration of Bioactive COmpounds may have adverse effects that should be asseseed. PLease, take a look to:

1. Guide for the support of health claims in foods

Carlos Javier González-Navarro , J. Alfredo Martinez

3. Non-clinical toxicity studies on bioactive compounds within the

framework of nutritional and health claims

Ana Gloria Gil , Leire Arbillaga , Adela López de Cerain