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    What Is Food Processing

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    LenielynBiso
    Food processing involves methods used to transform raw foods into food products, including washing, chopping, cooking, freezing, fermenting, and packaging. Common food processing methods are canning, fermentation, freezing, modified atmosphere packaging, pasteurization, smoking, and adding additives. Food processing makes foods edible, improves safety and shelf life, can impact nutritional quality both positively and negatively, increases convenience, and decreases the cost of foods. When chosen carefully, processed foods can fit into a healthy diet, but those high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat are best consumed occasionally.

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    What Is Food Processing

    Uploaded by

    LenielynBiso
    4K views4 pages
    Food processing involves methods used to transform raw foods into food products, including washing, chopping, cooking, freezing, fermenting, and packaging. Common food processing methods are canning, fermentation, freezing, modified atmosphere packaging, pasteurization, smoking, and adding additives. Food processing makes foods edible, improves safety and shelf life, can impact nutritional quality both positively and negatively, increases convenience, and decreases the cost of foods. When chosen carefully, processed foods can fit into a healthy diet, but those high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat are best consumed occasionally.

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    Food processing involves methods used to transform raw foods into food products, including washing, chopping, cooking, freezing, fermenting, and packaging. Common food processing methods are canning, fermentation, freezing, modified atmosphere packaging, pasteurization, smoking, and adding additives. Food processing makes foods edible, improves safety and shelf life, can impact nutritional quality both positively and negatively, increases convenience, and decreases the cost of foods. When chosen carefully, processed foods can fit into a healthy diet, but those high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat are best consumed occasionally.

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    4K views4 pages

    What Is Food Processing

    Uploaded by

    LenielynBiso
    Food processing involves methods used to transform raw foods into food products, including washing, chopping, cooking, freezing, fermenting, and packaging. Common food processing methods are canning, fermentation, freezing, modified atmosphere packaging, pasteurization, smoking, and adding additives. Food processing makes foods edible, improves safety and shelf life, can impact nutritional quality both positively and negatively, increases convenience, and decreases the cost of foods. When chosen carefully, processed foods can fit into a healthy diet, but those high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat are best consumed occasionally.

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    What is food processing?

    Food processing is any method used to turn fresh foods into food products.1 This
    can involve one or a combination of various processes including washing,
    chopping, pasteurising, freezing, fermenting, packaging, cooking and many
    more.2 Food processing also includes adding ingredients to food, for example to
    extend shelf life.3, 4

    What are the methods of food processing?

    Food processing includes traditional (heat treatment, fermentation, pickling,


    smoking, drying, curing) and modern methods (pasteurisation, ultra-heat
    treatment, high pressure processing, or modified atmosphere packaging). Some
    of the common methods are described below:

    Canning
    The food is heated to a high temperature. This process is called pasteurisation.
    Then, the food is packaged and stored in an air-tight can. Check our
    infographic showing the processing steps for canned tomatoes.

    Fermentation
    The breakdown of sugars by bacteria, yeasts or other microorganisms under
    anaerobic conditions. This means, no oxygen is needed for the process to take
    place (apart from oxygen present in sugar). Fermentation is notably used in the
    production of alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and cider, and in the
    preservation of foods such as sauerkraut, dry sausages, and yoghurt, but also for
    raising dough in bread production.

    Freezing
    Food temperatures are reduced to below 0°C to decrease the activity of
    harmful bacteria. The process can be used to preserve the majority of foods
    including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and ready meals. Do you know the steps
    needed to produce frozen peas? Check them out here!

    Modified atmosphere packaging


    Air inside a package is substituted by a protective gas mix, often including
    oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen – gases that are also present in the air we
    breathe. They help to extend the shelf life of fresh food products - usually of
    fruits, vegetables, meat and meat products, and seafood.
    Pasteurisation
    Food is heated and then quickly cooled down to kill microorganisms. For
    example, raw milk may contain harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses.
    Boiling it (at home) or pasteurising (on a large scale) is crucial to ensure it is safe
    to consume. Apart from dairy products, pasteurisation is widely used in
    preservation of canned foods, juices and alcoholic beverages.

    Smoking
    A process of heat and chemical treatment of food to help preserve it by
    exposing it to smoke from burning material such as wood. Smoked foods usually
    include types of meat, sausages, fish or cheese.

    Additives
    Food additives play an important role in preserving the freshness, safety, taste,
    appearance and texture of processed foods. Food additives are added for
    particular purposes, whether to ensure food safety, or to maintain food quality
    during the shelf-life of a product. For example, antioxidants prevent fats and oils
    from becoming rancid, while preservatives prevent or reduce the growth of
    microbes (e.g. mould on bread). Emulsifiers are used for instance in improving
    the texture of mayonnaise, or stopping salad dressings from separating into oil
    and water.

    What are the reasons and consequences of food processing?

    Makes food edible


    Grain crops, for example wheat and corn, are not edible in their natural state.
    Processing techniques, such as milling and grinding, turn them into flour, after
    which they can be made into breads, cereals, pasta and other edible grain-
    based products. There are 3 types of flours depending on the processing level,
    choose wholegrain when possible. You can learn more about the journey of
    grain to bread in our ‘Gain on grain’ infographic.

    Safety, shelf life, and preservation


    Processing improves or even ensures food safety by removing harmful
    microorganisms. The main methods are pasteurisation, air-tight packaging, and
    the use of preservatives.

    Nutritional quality
    Food processing can affect the nutritional quality of foods in both ways: it can
    enhance it, for instance by adding components that were not present, like
    vitamin D (through ‘fortification’), or by lowering fat, salt or sugar. It can also
    cause some fibre and vitamins and minerals to be lost, for example through
    excessive refining, heating or freezing.

    Convenience
    Processing and packaging technologies help to answer modern day time-
    constraints by providing a range of convenient foods: ready meals, bagged
    salads, sliced and canned fruits and vegetables that take little time to prepare
    and can be consumed “on the go”.

    Price
    Food processing can decrease the cost of foods. For example, frozen
    vegetables have a similar nutritional value as fresh ones, but at a lower price, as
    they have already been prepared, do not contain inedible parts, can be
    bought in bulk, and can last longer. This way, processing increases the shelf life
    of food, and decreases the amount of waste, reducing thereby the overall costs
    of food production.

    More examples of the impact of food processing can be found in our


    infographic on the basics of food processing.

    How does processed food fit into a healthy diet?

    A healthy diet means eating a variety of nutritious foods from different food
    groups, including fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and cereals (opting for
    wholegrains when possible), proteins, dairy and healthy fats. Most foods
    consumed nowadays are processed at least to some degree, but not all
    processed foods are the same. For example, fruit canned in fruit juice will be a
    better option than fruit canned in a sugary syrup. Therefore, when chosen
    mindfully, processed foods can be incorporated into a healthy and balanced
    diet.

    Less processed foods such as frozen fruits and vegetables provide valuable
    sources of nutrition, with greater convenience and lower price. Chopped,
    frozen, and canned foods in natural juices (fruit) or water (veg or fish), are
    therefore good alternatives for busy people having limited time to shop for or
    cook from a fresh produce.
    Some processed foods that contain less fibre, and higher levels of (saturated)
    fat, added sugar and salt, are best consumed occasionally. For example,
    canned savoury foods and cured meats are often high in salt. In fact, the World
    Cancer Research Fund advises to eat very little, if any, processed meat (such as
    ham, salami, bacon and some sausages, including frankfurters and chorizo). For
    more information, read our science brief. Similarly, it helps to be mindful of foods
    like biscuits, chocolate bars, burgers, pizzas and alike, and make them an
    occasional addition to, rather than a basis of our diet.

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