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Food processing is the alteration of foods from the state in which they are harvested or raised to better preserve them and feed consumers,Processing began in prehistoric times. As agriculture and animal husbandry spread, it was essential to preserve foods to avoid losses because of spoilage and to survive during times of scarcity. Food processing was probably the first “technology” that was sufficiently successful such that it led to a segregation of societies into discrete artisan industries. As such, food processing as an industry was likely the stepping stone to urbanization.
Eight types of supplementary foods based on popped cereals (wheat, ragi, bajra and sorghum) blended with legumes (soy and bengalgram) and fortified with essential vitamins and minerals were developed on a pilot plant scale. Four of the supplements were prepared with cereals, soy flour (SF) and bengal gram (BG) dhal and the other four were prepared with combinations of cereals and SF. These blends were mixed with jaggery (obtained by boiling juice out of sugarcane) syrup and pressed into compact form. One hundred gram portions of these foods provided 370 ± 20 kilocalories and 11 ± 1 g protein. Moisture, crude protein, total carbohydrates, total lipids, ash, dietary fiber and energy contents, of all the developed supplements were within the ranges prescribed by the Indian Standards Institute for processed weaning foods and could satisfactorily meet one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of these nutrients per day for preschool children. Organoleptic evaluation and feeding trials revealed that the foods were well accepted by rural mothers and children.
Until recently, much preservation and processing of food were done at home; only within the past 100 y has large-scale food processing become an industrial process. The basic steps involved in preservation and processing and their consequences on food quality, nourishment, and safety are largely the same, however, regardless of whether food is processed at home or commercially.
Definitions of processed foods
Perhaps some of the confusion surrounding processed foods can be clarified by stating some simple operational definitions at the outset. To process food means to use a series of mechanical or chemical operations to change or preserve it. An Institute of Food Technologists scientific review (1) described processing as “one or more of a range of operations, including washing, grinding, mixing, cooling, storing, heating, freezing, filtering, fermenting, extracting, extruding, centrifuging, frying, drying, concentrating, pressurizing, irradiating, microwaving, and packaging.” Many staples in the diet, such as bread, cheese, and wine, bear little or no resemblance to their starting commodities and are highly processed and prepared but are often not regarded as “processed” by consumers.
Categories of processed foods as proposed by the International Food Information Council1
| Type of food | Examples |
| Foods that require processing or production (also called “minimally processed”) | Washed and packaged fruit and vegetables; bagged salads; roasted and ground nuts and coffee beans |
| Foods processed to help preserve and enhance nutrients and freshness of foods at their peak | Canned tuna, beans, and tomatoes; frozen fruits and vegetables; puréed and jarred baby foods |
| Foods that combine ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, oils, flavors, colors, and preservatives to improve safety and taste and/or add visual appeal; does not include “ready-to-eat” foods listed below | Some packaged foods, such as instant potato mix, rice, cake mix, jarred tomato sauce, spice mixes, dressings and sauces, and gelatin |
| “Ready-to-eat” foods needing minimal or no preparation | Breakfast cereal, flavored oatmeal, crackers, jams and jellies, nut butters, ice cream, yogurt, garlic bread, granola bars, cookies, fruit chews, rotisserie chicken, luncheon meats, honey-baked ham, cheese spreads, fruit drinks, and carbonated beverages |
| Foods packaged to stay fresh and save time | Prepared deli foods and frozen meats, entrées, pot pies, and pizzas |
ACTIONS NEEDED TO ENHANCE THE CONTRIBUTION OF PROCESSED FOOD TO NUTRITIONAL SECURITY AND FOOD SECURITY
Nutritional security ensures an adequate, balanced, varied, and wholesome diet. Food security, or having enough food and a secure, sustainable, and affordable food supply, is essential for all countries and individuals.
factors such as population growth, food insecurity, and the globalization of the food supply will affect the demand for food in the United States and abroad and food security over the next 25–50 y.
To enhance the contribution of processed foods in helping to address these challenges, several actions are described below.-
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Enhance nutritional benefits and decrease undesirable attributes of food processing
Many years ago, Bender suggested some rules of thumb for producing nutritionally favorable processed foods, such as convenience in preparing a complete meal, ease in conforming to human needs, an emphasis on foods with nutrients that are likely to fall short in diets, and a de-emphasis on those with constituents that are in excess. Food processing techniques such as enrichment and fortification can add essential nutrients that might otherwise be in short supply and can alter food profiles to decrease components that may be overconsumed. Some examples are iron-fortified infant cereals, the fortification of milk with vitamin D, the fortification of margarine with vitamin A, processed foods prepared with iodized salt enrichment of cereals with B vitamins and iron, and the recent fortification of wheat flour with folic acid.
Diminish perceived and real disadvantages of food processing
Unfamiliar processes
One disadvantage of commercial food processing techniques is that they are poorly understood. Commercial food processing involves techniques that are difficult for the general public to grasp and that are out of their control, thus introducing a lack of transparency and generating suspicion and concerns about safety in some individuals.
In addition, concerns about the nutritional content and other aspects of the production of processed foods, such as sustainability and cost, have led to criticisms of processed foods as “ultra-processed” and not compatible with good nutrition. However, the type and extent of processing do not necessarily correlate with the nutritional content of the product. For example, high-temperature, short-term pasteurization and ultrahigh temperature sterilization cause less loss of nutrients than do older methods such as pasteurization and sterilization.
Food safety
Another concern about food processing involves fears about food safety. In the 19th century, during the transition from farms and subsistence agriculture with home-processed food to urbanization and a commercially processed food supply that was ineffectively regulated, adulteration and other abuses in the manufacture of processed foods were common.
It is a constant and dynamic challenge to keep pace with the changing food supply and to continue to maintain a safe food supply. Appropriate processing and preparation techniques for foods and a strong regulatory program are 2 essential means of safeguarding health in the face of these safety challenges.
Nutritional value
Many Americans are concerned about nutrition, but they may not know how to prepare foods to maintain their nutritional value. Some also have nutritional concerns about food processing that may lead to over- or undercooking of food at home. Processing techniques that involve milling; separating; exposures to air, light, heat, or radiation; changes in acidity or osmolality; or other techniques during freezing, drying, canning, or vacuum packing can and often do alter the content of nutrients and other nonessential bioactive food constituents.
Cost
The actual cost of food is a subject on which a great deal of consumer ignorance exists. Relative to virtually all consumer product categories, food costs have increased the least over the past half century . Nevertheless, consumers remain highly sensitive to food prices, and price approaches taste as a top concern when purchasing foods and beverages.
Lack of fit with food preferences or other values
Some consumers have ethical or cultural beliefs or philosophical concerns about processed foods. They hold values or preferences that cause them to object to various aspects of processing (eg, food colors, food additives, bioengineered foods, irradiated foods, foods processed in unsustainable ways, or foods with high carbon footprints). These values are personal views that nutrition and food scientists must respect and, when possible, provide alternatives in the marketplace that cater to them. Better communication with consumers is needed to modify values and choices that are motivated more by perceptions of a food being unhealthy or perceptions of risk or lack of safety.
Enhance understanding of the role of food processing in meeting nutritional needs as well as societal and consumer wants
Nutrition scientists, food scientists, food manufacturers, and health professionals are having difficulty communicating among themselves and to consumers about the role of processed foods in nutrition and health. In part this is because of the different definitions used by these groups, the different perceptions of these groups, and the difference in the training they have received. For example, an individual who desires a diet that is low in pesticides, hormones, and additives may describe it as one that does not contain “processed” foods, but a food scientist/technologist interprets this request as a desire to omit all foods that are heat-treated, frozen, or otherwise transformed during manufacture. Thus, the two will misunderstand each other and strive for different outcomes. A nutritionist is interested in processed foods from yet a third viewpoint, ie, the nutrient contribution to the diet. Nutrition professionals can play a role in assessing the contributions of processed foods to the intake of both nutrients to encourage and constituents to limit.
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