what is food processing essay

Processed Foods and Health

Processed foods are generally thought to be inferior to unprocessed foods. The term may suggest that a packaged food item contains many ingredients, perhaps even artificial colors, flavors, or other chemical additives. Often referred to as convenience or pre-prepared foods, processed foods are suggested to contribute to the obesity epidemic and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. However, the definition of processed food varies widely depending on the source:

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines a processed food as one that has undergone any changes to its natural state—that is, any raw agricultural commodity subjected to washing, cleaning, milling, cutting, chopping, heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing, packaging, or other procedures that alter the food from its natural state. The food may include the addition of other ingredients such as preservatives, flavors, nutrients and other food additives or substances approved for use in food products, such as salt, sugars, and fats.
• The Institute of Food Technologists includes additional processing terms like storing, filtering, fermenting, extracting, concentrating, microwaving, and packaging. [1]

According to these standards, virtually all foods sold in the supermarket would be classified as “processed” to some degree. Because food begins to deteriorate and loses nutrients as soon as it is harvested, even the  apples  in the produce aisle undergo four or more processing steps before being sold to the consumer. That’s why in practice, it’s helpful to differentiate between the various degrees of food processing.

Types of Food Processing

A popular system to classify processed foods was introduced in 2009, called the NOVA classification. It lists four categories considering the degree to which a food is processed and the purpose of these modifications: [2-4]

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods

Processed culinary ingredients

Processed foods

Ultra-processed foods

The NOVA system is recognized by the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Pan American Health Organization, but not currently in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration or USDA. NOVA has been criticized for being too general in classifying certain foods, causing confusion. For example, yogurt may fall into more than one category: plain yogurt is minimally processed, but fruited yogurt with added sweeteners could be labeled either processed or ultra-processed depending on how much sweetener and other chemical additives are incorporated. NOVA also does not provide comprehensive lists of specific foods in each category, so the consumer is left to guess where each may fall.

Is Processed Food Unhealthy?

There’s no doubt that at least some processed foods are found in most people’s kitchens. There are benefits and drawbacks.

• Frozen, pre-chopped, and canned ingredients can be time-savers in the kitchen.
• Some processed and fortified foods provide important nutrients that may not otherwise be obtained in a busy household or one that has a limited food budget.
• From a nutritional standpoint, processed and even ultra-processed foods can provide key nutrients. Some nutrients, like protein, are naturally retained throughout processing, and others, such as B vitamins and iron, may be added back if they are lost during processing. Fruits and vegetables that are quickly frozen after harvesting can  retain the majority of vitamin C .
• Throughout history, foods fortified with specific nutrients have prevented deficiencies and their related health problems in certain populations. Examples include infant cereals fortified with iron and B vitamins to prevent anemia, milk fortified with vitamin D to prevent rickets, wheat flour fortified with folic acid to prevent birth defects and iodine added to salt to prevent goiter.
• Processing by certain methods like pasteurization, cooking, and drying can destroy or inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria. Additives such as emulsifiers preserve the texture of foods, such as preventing peanut butter from separating into solid and liquid parts. Other functions of processing include delaying the spoilage of food; preserving desirable sensory qualities of food (flavor, texture, aroma, appearance); and increasing convenience in preparing a complete meal.
• Therefore, the indispensable role of food processing enables us to have a stable and predictable food supply and maintains food and nutrient security.

Depending on the degree of processing, nutrients can be destroyed or removed. Peeling outer layers of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may remove plant nutrients (phytochemicals) and fiber. Heating or drying foods can destroy certain vitamins and minerals. Although food manufacturers can add back some of the nutrients lost, it is impossible to recreate the food in its original form.

Currently, bread and frozen meals are some of the most consumed ultra-processed foods in the U.S. [5] While these products can be good sources of whole grains, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, they can also be high in sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats. Given the variety of ultra-processed foods, it may be helpful to distinguish those with lower nutritional value from the broader category. Such distinction can be determined by evaluating a food’s nutritional content and long-term health effects. A product with an unevenly high ratio of calories to fiber and healthy nutrients (e.g., unsaturated fats, B vitamins, potassium) may be considered an “ultra-processed food of low nutritional value.” For example, soda provides high calories from added sugars and no healthy nutrients; and research supports an association between a high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. On the other hand, whole-grain bread and fiber-containing low-sugar breakfast cereals that may be fortified with nutrients such as folic acid have consistently been linked with lower rates of stroke. [6]

To help illustrate the spectrum of food processing, the table below includes ultra-processed foods of low nutritional value as its own category. We also we separate the NOVA categories of “unprocessed” and “minimally processed” foods, and omit NOVA’s “processed culinary ingredients” category, which mainly includes supplementary food components to assist in cooking and food preparation.

Decoding the ingredients list on a food label

• The ingredients are listed in order of quantity by weight. This means that the food ingredient that weighs the most will be listed first, and the ingredient that weighs the least is listed last. [7]
• Some ingredients like sugar and salt may be listed by other names. For example, alternative terms for sugar are corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, agave nectar, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, dextrose, malt syrup, molasses, or turbinado sugar. Other terms for sodium include monosodium glutamate or disodium phosphate.
• Preservatives —ascorbic acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, tocopherols
• Emulsifiers that prevent separation of liquids and solids—soy lecithin, monoglycerides
• Thickeners to add texture—xanthan gum, pectin, carrageenan , guar gum
• Colors —artificial FD&C Yellow No. 6 or natural beta-carotene to add yellow hues
• Fortified foods contain vitamins and minerals that are added after processing. Either these nutrients were lost during processing, or they were added because they are lacking in the average diet. Examples include B vitamins (riboflavin, niacin, niacinamide, folate or folic acid), beta carotene, iron (ferrous sulfate), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin D, or amino acids to boost protein content (L-tryptophan, L-lysine, L-leucine, L-methionine).

Ingredients used widely in the production of ultra-processed foods such as  saturated fats ,  added sugar , and  sodium have become markers of poor diet quality due to their effect on heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. [8,9] It is estimated that ultra-processed foods contribute about 90% of the total calories obtained from added sugars. [5]  

• In 2015, the World Health Organization categorized processed meats as cancer-causing to humans. They defined “processed meat” as meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavor or improve preservation. The statement was made after 22 scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group evaluated more than 800 studies on the topic. The evidence on processed meats was strongest for colorectal cancer, followed by stomach cancer. [10]
• An analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study found that a higher intake of ultra-processed foods like processed meats and potato chips was associated with weight gain over 4 years. [11] Other studies suggest that the more that ultra-processed foods are eaten, the greater the risk of a diet lacking in important nutrients. An evaluation of the dietary intakes of 9,317 U.S. participants in an NHANES cohort found that higher intakes of ultra-processed foods were linked with greater consumption of refined carbohydrate, added sugars, and saturated fat. At the same time, intakes of fiber, zinc, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E decreased. [12]
• Another observational study among nearly 20,000 Spanish university graduates in the Seguimiento University of Navarra (SUN) cohort found that higher consumption (more than 4 servings per day) of ultra-processed food was associated with a 62% increased risk of death from any cause compared with lower consumption (less than 2 servings per day). For each additional daily serving of ultra-processed food, there was an 18% increased risk of death. Based on their findings, the researchers noted the importance of policies that limit the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet and promote consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods to improve global public health. [13] Other cohort studies in France (NutriNet Santé) and the U.S. (NHANES) have also found that consumption of ultra-processed foods was directly associated with higher all-cause mortality. [14,15]
• In 2019, a randomized controlled trial looked at whether ultra-processed foods, as defined under the NOVA classification, might indeed cause people to eat more. Ten men and ten women were randomized to receive either an ultra-processed diet or unprocessed diet for 14 days, followed by 14 more days of the alternate diet. The diets were relatively equal in calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and other nutrients, and participants were allowed to eat as much or as little as they liked. The study found that participants ate about 500 calories more on the ultra-processed diet and also gained weight (about 2 pounds). [16] Most of the extra calories came from carbohydrate and fats, and the diet also increased their sodium intake. When the participants changed to the unprocessed diet, they ate fewer calories and lost the weight they gained. According to appetite surveys, the diets did not differ in levels of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction, though participants tended to eat faster on the ultra-processed diet.
• Reviews of cohort and cross-sectional studies were conducted to assess the effect of ultra-processed foods on health. Results from cross-sectional studies found that the highest intakes of ultra-processed foods were associated with significantly higher odds  of overweight/obesity, low HDL cholesterol, and metabolic syndrome. [17,18]   Results from cohort studies found an association with the highest ultra-processed food intake and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, early deaths from any cause, and depression. [17]
• Another review looked at trends with ultra-processed foods using 100 studies from around the world. [19] The study found that ultra-processed foods (especially breads, cookies, savory snacks, juices, sodas, and breakfast cereals) tended to be eaten the most by those with lower education status and by children and adolescents. However, vegans and vegetarians were also found to have higher intakes of ultra-processed foods when classifying plant-based meat and dairy substitutes as highly processed items. The authors noted the difficulty in comparing study results due to the different definitions of ultra-processed foods (e.g., the same food may have been classified differently among studies). They also observed that most studies used food frequency questionnaires to assess ultra-processed food intake, which are not validated to do so, and therefore any conclusions drawn from the studies should be interpreted cautiously.
• A systematic review with meta-analysis incorporating data from cohort studies including the Nurses Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study found that a higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. [20] Certain food categories were associated with disease risk such as refined breads, artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages, animal-based products, and ready-to-eat mixed dishes. On the other hand, whole-grain breads and cereals and savory snacks like light crackers and fat-free popcorn were associated with lower risk of this condition.

The Bottom Line

Food processing is a very broad spectrum that ranges from basic technologies like freezing or milling, to the incorporation of additives that promote shelf stability or increase palatability. As a general rule, emphasizing unprocessed or minimally processed foods in the daily diet is optimal. That said, the use of processed and even ultra-processed foods is the choice of the consumer, and there are pros and cons that come with each type. The Nutrition Facts Label and ingredients list can be useful tools in deciding when to include a more processed food in one’s diet. There is evidence showing an association with certain types of food processing and poor health outcomes, especially low-nutrient ultra-processed foods that contain added sugars ,  excess sodium , and  unhealthful fats . But there also exist ultra-processed foods that have low amounts of these ingredients while being fortified in beneficial nutrients such as calcium, protein, fiber, and vitamins B and D.

Research is still clarifying if any harmful health effects from ultra-processed foods arise from the higher degree of processing or simply from the poorer nutritional quality often accompanying these types of foods. There is a growing range of processed and ultra-processed foods available, and some products may be a useful addition to a healthful diet.

Put it into practice: Ideas for a day of minimally-processed meals

You don’t have to avoid all processed foods but begin by adding more fresh or minimally processed ingredients to your shopping cart. More time may be needed to prepare these foods than just opening a can or popping a frozen container in a microwave, but the rewards may be fresher flavors, increased nutrients, and eating less additives that have no nutritional benefit.

• Look for breads that include whole grain flour as the main ingredient (it should be listed first) and that contain minimal additives and preservatives.
• Swap out butter spreads for mashed avocado or nut/seed butters.
• Choose breakfast cereals with less added sugar, such as plain steel-cut or large flake oats, plain shredded wheat, and low-sugar mueslis. Add nuts, chia seeds , or flaxseeds and fresh diced fruit to cereals for a heartier meal.

Lunch/Dinner:

• Reduce takeout and prepare more home-cooked meals using fresh ingredients or processed frozen or canned ingredients that are low in added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.
• Choose fresh poultry and fish, dried or low-sodium canned legumes , dry or frozen plain whole grains (brown or wild rice , farro, millet, quinoa ), fresh or frozen unseasoned vegetables, and herbs, spices, and vinegars .
• Cook in bulk and freeze extra food so that you have meals ready to reheat when you are bus Dinner leftovers make a great next-day lunch! If you are not used to cooking at home, it may require some planning ahead and experimentation at first.
• Try fresh washed and sliced fruits, raw sliced vegetables with hummus, plain or low-sugar yogurt, unsalted nuts, roasted chickpeas or other beans, edamame, overnight oats , or homemade trail mix with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.

Beverages: Your body appreciates plain water ! Try it chilled with ice, warmed, or infused with fresh mint, slices of citrus fruit, or a piece of ginger.

Restaurants:

• Bypass the usual highly processed fast-food options of fried chicken, burgers, and fries. Visit eateries that offer fresh vegetables or salads; lean fresh protein foods like fish, poultry, tofu, or legumes; and whole grains that are simply prepared without excess salt and fat.
• Research menus online when available, to save time when making food selectio
• Weaver CM, Dwyer J, Fulgoni III VL, King JC, Leveille GA, MacDonald RS, Ordovas J, Schnakenberg D. Processed foods: contributions to nutrition. The American journal of clinical nutrition . 2014 Apr 23;99(6):1525-42.
• Monteiro CA. Nutrition and health. The issue is not food, nor nutrients, so much as processing. Public health nutrition . 2009 May;12(5):729-31.
• Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Moubarac JC, Levy RB, Louzada ML, Jaime PC. The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing. Public Health Nutrition . 2018 Jan;21(1):5-17.
• Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB et al. NOVA. The star shines bright. [Food classification. Public health] World Nutrition January-March 2016, 7, 1-3, 28-38.
• Steele EM, Baraldi LG, da Costa Louzada ML, Moubarac JC, Mozaffarian D, Monteiro CA. Ultra-processed foods and added sugars in the US diet: evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study. BMJ open. 2016 Jan 1;6(3):e009892.
• Hankey GJ. B vitamins for stroke prevention. Stroke and vascular neurology . 2018 Jun 1;3(2).
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food Labeling Guide: Guidance for Industry. January 2013.
• Tapsell LC, Neale EP, Satija A, Hu FB. Foods, nutrients, and dietary patterns: interconnections and implications for dietary guidelines. Advances in Nutrition . 2016 May 9;7(3):445-54.
• Poti JM, Braga B, Qin B. Ultra-processed Food Intake and Obesity: What Really Matters for Health—Processing or Nutrient Content?. Current obesity reports . 2017 Dec 1;6(4):420-31.
• Bouvard V, Loomis D, Guyton KZ, Grosse Y, El Ghissassi F, Benbrahim-Tallaa L, Guha N, Mattock H, Straif K. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. The Lancet Oncology . 2015 Dec 1;16(16):1599-600.
• Mozaffarian D, Hao T, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB. Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men. New England Journal of Medicine . 2011 Jun 23;364(25):2392-404.
• Steele EM, Popkin BM, Swinburn B, Monteiro CA. The share of ultra-processed foods and the overall nutritional quality of diets in the US: evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study. Population health metrics . 2017 Dec;15(1):6.
• Rico-Campà A, Martínez-González MA, Alvarez-Alvarez I, de Deus Mendonça R, de la Fuente-Arrillaga C, Gómez-Donoso C, Bes-Rastrollo M. Association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all cause mortality: SUN prospective cohort study. BMJ . 2019 May 29;365:l1949.
• Schnabel L, Kesse-Guyot E, Allès B, Touvier M, Srour B, Hercberg S, Buscail C, Julia C. Association Between Ultraprocessed Food Consumption and Risk of Mortality Among Middle-aged Adults in France. JAMA internal medicine . 2019 Feb 11.
• Kim H, Hu EA, Rebholz CM. Ultra-processed food intake and mortality in the USA: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988–1994). Public health nutrition . 2019 Feb 21:1-9.
• Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, Cai H, Cassimatis T, Chen KY, Chung ST, Costa E, Courville A, Darcey V, Fletcher LA. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell metabolism . 2019 May 16.
• Pagliai G, Dinu M, Madarena MP, Bonaccio M, Iacoviello L, Sofi F. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health status: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Nutrition . 2021 Feb;125(3):308-18.
• Askari M, Heshmati J, Shahinfar H, Tripathi N, Daneshzad E. Ultra-processed food and the risk of overweight and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. International journal of obesity . 2020 Oct;44(10):2080-91.
• Marino M, Puppo F, Del Bo’ C, Vinelli V, Riso P, Porrini M, Martini D. A systematic review of worldwide consumption of ultra-processed foods: findings and criticisms. Nutrients . 2021 Aug 13;13(8):2778.
• Chen Z, Khandpur N, Desjardins C, Wang L, Monteiro CA, Rossato SL, Fung TT, Manson JE, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Hu FB. Ultra-processed food consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: three large prospective US cohort studies. Diabetes Care . 2023 Jul 1;46(7):1335-44.

Last reviewed August 2023

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• food production

Processed food: what is the purpose of food processing?

In a  consumer study  carried out by EUFIC, we investigated the understanding of processed foods among participants from the UK. This Q&A summarises the topics explored in the study.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

For more information please see:

EUFIC (2016). Understanding perceptions of processed food among UK consumers. A qualitative consumer study by EUFIC. EUFIC Forum n° 7.

• Monteiro C, Levy R, Claro R, et al. (2010). A new classification of foods based on the extent and purpose of their processing. Cad Saude Publica 26(11), pp. 2039-2049.
• Floros J, Newsome R, Fisher W, et al. (2010). Feeding the world today and tomorrow: the importance of food science and technology. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 9(5), pp. 572–599.
• Dwyer J, Fulgoni V, Clemens R, et al. (2012). Is ‘Processed’ a four-letter word? The role of processed foods in achieving dietary guidelines and nutrients recommendations. American Society for Nutrition 3, pp. 536-548.
• Weaver C, Dwyer J, Fulgoni V, et al. (2014). Processed food: contributions to nutrition. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) 99(6), pp. 1525-1542.

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How to Write a Process Essay on Food

How to Write a Process Essay About Cupcakes

A process essay on food is either an essay that tells you how to make a recipe or one that tells you how a food product is made. Both essays are written in the form of step-by-step instructions. As you research and write your essay, you'll likely learn a lot, which can benefit you as the author, as baking brownies from scratch is time-consuming, but the final product is well worth the wait. It is important to keep your directions or process steps as simple as possible. If the process is a recipe, the article should teach the reader how to make it. If the process is how a certain food product was made, like name-brand factory products, the reader should understand all the steps that went into creating that food product.

Writing About How Food is Made

Find out everything there is to know about making the food product about which you are writing. Take notes, use legitimate sources and if possible, interview someone directly involved in the production of the food product. Consider all of the ingredients, staff and machinery necessary to make the food you are learning about. You may be writing about how a factory mass produces their brand of food, such as candy bars or toaster pastries, or how a private bakery is run. Ask questions appropriate to your topic.

Before you begin writing, first outline your essay. This will help plan everything you want to write about. Order everything in sequential order, so the reader will clearly understand how the food product is made. Next, write the body of your essay. Each paragraph should be one point or one step in the process to make the food product. Make sure the reader knows everything involved in the process you are writing about.

Finally, write the introduction and conclusion of your essay. It is best to write the introduction after the body, so you understand what you are introducing. An introduction should prepare a reader for your article and possibly give them some background information on the process. The conclusion should summarize all of your main points. Last but not least, go back over your essay and correct any grammatical or spelling errors.

Writing Recipes

Learn everything you can about the recipe you are writing about. Do some research and learn if there are different ways to make the food in the recipe. Make sure you are educated in the cooking methods required in the recipe. It's also important to cook or prepare the recipe yourself. When you have followed the steps you learned, you will understand how best to teach those steps to others, and you might pick up some new cooking skills as well.

Next, write down all of the steps to prepare the recipe. Be sure to write the recipe in chronological order. For example, for recipes that require baking, mention preheating the oven first, so it can be at the proper temperature when it's time to place your dish in the oven. Include a list of necessary ingredients.

Then, you'll be able to write an introduction to the essay. This is best done after you have written the steps, so you know exactly what you are introducing. Try to include background information on the recipe in question.

Finally, write a conclusion to the essay. In this section include any variations to the recipe. If certain ingredients can be exchanged for others, let the reader know. Also, don't forget to proofread your essay at least one more time for spelling and grammatical errors, and fix if necessary.

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Food System Primer

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Food Processing

Food processing has come to be associated with ramen noodles, canned meat, and spongy snack cakes. The health concerns raised by these products have led many to assume that all processed foods are unhealthy, but do they deserve their reputation?

Businesses use food processing techniques to transform raw foods and ingredients into new products. These techniques run the gamut and include milling grains into flour, crushing seeds to extract their oil, churning milk into butter, mixing ingredients to make batter, and baking cookies on an assembly line. Meat processing, meanwhile, can involve techniques like cutting, deboning, and removing guts from carcasses.

While some food processing techniques use cutting-edge technology, others have been practiced for millennia. Thousands of years before food scientists figured out how to make dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, early Egyptians were brewing beer and baking leavened bread. 1

Today, for better and for worse, nearly all our food is processed in some way. Food processing offers important benefits to businesses and consumers, including a more varied food supply and foods with a longer shelf life. Certain aspects of food processing, however, raise concerns over dietary health, worker health, and food safety.

Preservation and Food Safety

After fruits and vegetables are harvested, they begin to lose nutrients. Freezing, canning, or storing fresh produce under proper conditions can slow nutrient losses. While canned foods are often perceived as less nutritious than fresh or frozen ones, studies show this is not always the case. It depends on the type of produce, how long it had been stored, and how it will be prepared. 6 Photo credit: Bernal Saborio. Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 .

Over time ,  yeasts, molds, bacteria, and other forces cause food to spoil, making it foul-tasting, less nutritious, and potentially unsafe to eat. Many of the oldest food processing techniques, such as drying fruit, pickling vegetables, salting meat, and fermenting dairy (e.g., to make cheese or yogurt) remain important to this day because they preserve food, delaying spoilage. 2  Preservation allows people to ship foods over greater distances, stock them in stores longer, and enjoy them for a greater part of the year with more nutrients intact.

Processing can also help to inhibit or destroy pathogens (disease-causing organisms) that may contaminate food. Preservation techniques such as refrigeration, fermentation, dehydration, and the use of salt, sugar, or chemical preservatives can slow or stop the growth of pathogens. Heat processes, such as pasteurization and cooking, are used to destroy them. 1

Although businesses use food processing techniques to reduce  food safety  risks, the facilities where foods are processed are sometimes part of the problem. Large processing plants, for example, often handle large volumes of products from many different sources. If a shipment of spinach from one farm is contaminated with  E. coli  (as in the 2006 outbreak linked to bagged spinach 3 ) and gets mixed together with greens from other farms, the entire batch may become contaminated before it is nationally distributed. As author Michael Pollan writes, “In effect, we’re washing the whole nation’s salad in one big sink.” 4  Similarly, an entire shipment of ground beef or poultry can be tainted by a single contaminated carcass at a meat processing plant.

Variety and Convenience

Nattō, known for its pungent odor, is a Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans.

Fermentation transforms food through the action of yeasts and bacteria. This process has been harnessed by humans for millennia to make traditional foods and beverages such as wine, kombucha, sauerkraut, and yogurt. In addition to producing a variety of flavors and textures, fermentation can promote gut health, preserve foods, improve nutritional quality, and reduce cooking times. 17,18 Photo credit:  JD Kinchan1, 2011. Flickr. Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0 .

By modifying the flavors, textures, aromas, colors, and form of foods and raw ingredients, food processing can create greater variety in our food supply. 6,7 A trip down the breakfast aisle of a supermarket reveals the tremendous variety of products derived from just a few different types of grain. Every year, roughly 20,000 new processed food products are introduced on retail shelves. 8 Of these, only the most successful remain. 9

Processing can also create products that require little or no preparation on the part of consumers. Among the earliest processed  “ convenience foods” was pemmican—strips of dried buffalo meat mixed with fat and berries that could be eaten “on the go” by First Nations peoples of the Great Plains. 10 Today, fast food, canned food, baby food, frozen entrées, packaged snack foods, and bottled beverages offer ready-to-heat or ready-to-eat convenience for busy eaters (and parents). 10,11 From 1966 to 1999, the amount of time U.S. adults ages 25 to 54 spent cooking meals decreased by 25 percent. Among U.S. women, the amount decreased by 43 percent. 12 Compared to the 1970s, Americans are consuming fewer calories at home and more at full-service and fast food restaurants, 13   and an estimated 30 percent of U.S. children now eat at a  fast food  restaurant daily. 14 These trends suggest a growing demand for convenience.

While fast food items and convenience foods are not universally unhealthy, many are made with refined grains, are high in added sugars and unhealthy fats, and have low nutritional value. Convenience foods may also encourage  unhealthy eating patterns , such as skipping meals and overeating. 15

Hominy, or nixtamalized maize.

Many traditional food processing techniques increase the availability of nutrients. Early Central American peoples, for example, prepared corn by soaking and cooking it in wood ashes. The process, called nixtamalization, made corn easier to grind and increased the availability of niacin, a B vitamin. When corn was later adopted as a staple crop among Europeans, they neglected to nixtamalize it, resulting in widespread niacin deficiency.  Photo credit: Geoff Lane, 2008. Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 .

Contrary to popular belief, the effects of food processing on  nutrition  are so varied that they cannot be generalized as unhealthy.

Some processing techniques deplete nutrients from food. Refining grains, for example, removes the bran and germ, which contain important nutrients like B vitamins, iron, and fiber. 18 Other processing techniques, such as fermentation, can enhance the nutritional quality of food, 17,19 while freezing fruits and vegetables can preserve nutrients after they are harvested. 5

Some processing techniques raise nutrient levels by adding vitamins and minerals. Enrichment is the restoration of some of the nutrients that are lost during processing. Fortification goes a step further, adding nutrients  above  naturally occurring levels in a food. 10 Typically fortified foods in the U.S. include salt (fortified with iodine), milk (fortified with vitamin D), and grain products (fortified with iron and B vitamins). 9 Such additions play important roles in helping prevent nutrient deficiencies. Food manufacturers may also use fortification as a selling point for foods of questionable nutritional quality, such as candy, snacks, and sweetened breakfast cereals. 9

When nutritionists recommend avoiding processed food, they are often referring to highly processed foods that are high in added sugars and unhealthy fats, have little or no nutritional value, and/or no longer resemble the plant and animal materials from which they are made. The overabundance of such foods in U.S. diets raises public health concerns. Soda and grain-based desserts (e.g., cakes, cookies, and doughnuts), for example, are among the top four sources of calories for U.S. adults 20 and children. 21

Animal Slaughter, Meat Processing, and Worker Health

Animal processing facilities present opportunities for disease-causing bacteria and other pathogens to enter the food supply. Large-scale poultry processing plants often operate at very high speeds—up to 175 birds per minute—allowing just a fraction of a second to identify and remove contaminated carcasses from the line before they are shipped to stores. The large volume of carcasses handled by these plants also presents frequent opportunities for cross-contamination. 26 Photo copyright.

Despite recent improvements, reported injury rates for workers in animal slaughtering and meat processing plants are over 40 percent higher than the average for the private American workforce. 22 Plant workers may be required to use sharp tools and heavy machinery, at high speeds, under crowded conditions, for long hours, and on slippery floors—sometimes without adequate training. 23 Workers who incur cuts, burns, or scrapes may be at particular risk of  antibiotic-resistant  infections. 24

In numerous documented cases, injured plant workers were unable to receive compensation, and injuries caused them to lose their jobs. Animal slaughtering and processing companies frequently hire immigrant workers, who may be less empowered to dispute hazardous working conditions. In some cases, undocumented immigrants are smuggled into the country by the companies that hire them, and face fears of deportation. These and other threats can deter workers from organizing to collectively bargain for better working conditions, and from reporting safety violations. 23

Food Packaging

Whether they are canned, bottled, boxed, or shrink-wrapped, processed foods are generally sold in packages. Packaging plays important roles in preservation and  food safety , serving as a barrier against bacterial contamination, pests, physical damage, the elements, and even curious (or malicious) tampering by people—damaged packaging alerts consumers that someone may have opened it previously. Packaging can also make food easier to transport, store, and serve; the spout on a carton of milk, for example, makes it easier to pour. Packaging also provides a surface for displaying labels. 7,25,26

For all its benefits, packaging can contribute to public health and environmental problems. Food packaging accounts for roughly two-thirds (by volume) of total packaging waste in the United States. 25 Discarding packaging materials in landfills has the potential to pollute air and water, while burning them for energy can emit  greenhouse gases , dioxins, and other pollutants (depending on the materials used) that are harmful to public health and the environment. 25 Recycling, composting, and reusing containers offer more environmentally sound alternatives. Manufacturers can also reduce the amount of material used in food packaging, ideally without compromising benefits to consumers. 7,25

Some forms of food packaging may also pose health risks among consumers. Bisphenol A (BPA), for example, is a synthetic (human-made) chemical used in the manufacture of hard plastic bottles, linings of metal cans, and various other products. Studies suggest BPA exposure may affect reproductive development in fetuses, infants, and children, among other health concerns. 27 BPA is one of many chemicals of concern in our food supply, illustrating the importance of understanding the potential health and ecological effects of a chemical  before  it becomes widely used.

This list is a starting point for further exploration. Some materials may not reflect the views of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

For teachers

• Processing: Farm to Factory  (lesson plan). FoodSpan. Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
• The Hands That Feed Us  (lesson plan). FoodSpan. Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
• Introduction to the US Food System: Public Health, Environment, and Equity  (textbook). Neff RN (editor). Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. 2014.

Reports and magazine articles

• A Literature Review of the Risks and Benefits of Consuming Raw and Pasteurized Cow's Milk . Davis BJK, Li CX, Nachman KE. Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. 2014.
• The Vegetable-Industrial Complex .  Michael Pollan . The New York Times, 2006.
• Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers' Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants . Human Rights Watch. 2004.          
• Fermented Cereals: A Global Perspective . Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1999.

Academic journal articles

• Caramel Color in Soft Drinks and Exposure to 4-Methylimidazole: A Quantitative Risk Assessment  (open access). Smith TJS, Wolfson JA, et al. PLOS One. 2015.
• Bisphenol A (BPA) in U.S. food  (open access). Schecter A, Malik N, et al. Environmental Science and Technology. 2010.
• Prevalence of livestock-associated MRSA in broiler flocks and risk factors for slaughterhouse personnel in The Netherlands  (open access). Mulders MN, Haenen AP, et al. Epidemiology and Infection. 2010.
• Food packaging - roles, materials, and environmental issues  (open access). Marsh K, Bugusu B. Journal of Food Science. 2007.
• Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables  (requires subscription). Rickman JC, Barrett DM, Bruh CM. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 2007.
• Food Processing: Principles and Applications, 2 nd  Edition  (portions available through Google Books). Clark S, Jung S, Lamsal B (eds). 2014.
• Food Politics: How the Industry Influences Nutrition and Health  (book). Marion Nestle. 2013.
• Wild Fermentation Portal (Sandor Ellix Katz).
• Truswell AS, Brand JC. Processing food.  Br Med J . 1985;291(6503):1186-1190.
• Smith JS, Hui YH.  Food Processing: Principles and Applications . First. Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell; 2004.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multi-State Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections From Spinach. 2006. http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2006/september/.
• Pollan M. The Vegetable-Industrial Complex.  N Y Times Mag . 2006.
• Rickman JC, Barrett JM, Bruhn CM. Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.  J Sci Food Agric . 2007;87:930-944.
• Fellows P.  Food Processing Technology: Principles and Practice . Second. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2000.
• Senauer B, Asp E, Kinsey J.  Food Trends and the Changing Consumer . St. Paul, Minnesota: Eagan Press; 1991.
• USDA Economic Research Service. New product introductions of consumer packaged goods, 1998-2020. 2021. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=55155
• Nestle M.  Food Politics: How the Industry Influences Nutrition and Health . Berkeley: University of California Press; 2002.
• Ensminger A, Ensminger ME, Konlande JE, Robson JRK.  Foods & Nutrition Encyclopedia, Volume 1 . 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 1994.
• Brunner T a, van der Horst K, Siegrist M. Convenience food products. Drivers for consumption.  Appetite . 2010;55(3):498-506. 
• Reynolds Farley, John Haaga, eds.  The American People: Census 2000 . New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation; 2005.
• Lin B-H, Guthrie J.  Nutritional Quality of Food Prepared at Home and Away From Home, 1977-2008 . 2012.
• Bowman S, Gortmaker S, Ebbeling C, Pereira M, Ludwig D. Effects of Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake and Diet Quality Among Children in a National Household Survey.  Pediatrics . 2004;113(1):112.
• Monteiro CA. Nutrition and health. The issue is not food, nor nutrients, so much as processing.  Public Health Nutr . 2009;12(5):729-731.
• Steinkraus KH, ed.  Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods . Marcel Dekker, Inc. 1995.
• Poutanen K, Flander L, Katina K. Sourdough and cereal fermentation in a nutritional perspective.  Food Microbiol . 2009;26(7):693-699.
• American Heart Association. Whole Grains, Refined Grains and Dietary Fiber. 2021. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/whole-grains-refined-grains-and-dietary-fiber.
• Steinkraus KH. Classification of fermented foods: worldwide review of household fermentation techniques.  Food Control . 1997;8(5-6):311-317.
• Cotton PA, Subar AF, Friday JE, Cook A. Dietary sources of nutrients among US adults, 1994 to 1996.  J Am Diet Assoc . 2004;104(6):921-930. .
• Reedy J, Krebs-Smith S. Dietary Sources of Energy, Solid Fats and Added Sugars among Children and Adolescents in the United States.  J Am Diet Assoc . 2010;110(110):1477-1784.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics. Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities. 2013.
• Human Rights Watch.  Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants . New York: Human Rights Watch; 2004.
• Mulders MN, Haenen  a PJ, Geenen PL, et al. Prevalence of livestock-associated MRSA in broiler flocks and risk factors for slaughterhouse personnel in The Netherlands.  Epidemiol Infect . 2010;138(5):743-755. om/2012/06/the-fast-and-defeathered-proposed-processing-rule-puts-health-at-risk.
• Marsh K, Bugusu B. Food packaging - roles, materials, and environmental issues.  J Food Sci . 2007;72(3):R39-R55.
• Rahman MS.  Handbook of Food Preservation, Second Edition . Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2007.
• Schecter A, Malik N, Haffner D, et al. Bisphenol A (BPA) in U.S. food.  Environ Sci Technol . 2010;44(24):9425-9430. 

Introduction to food processing

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The food industry employs a very wide range of processes in order to prepare and package food products for the consumer. These range from simple cleaning and sorting operations, to complex size reduction, mixing, heating, cooling and forming processes. The food industry has evolved along with the consumer market, each stimulating the development of the other, the requirement of the consumer market being for food products in convenient form, of uniform quality, and with sufficient shelf life. An important consequence of this development is that packaging in some form or other constitutes a key element in all food processing operations.

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Link, Mälkki, Olkku and Larinkar (eds), Food Processing Systems , Vol. 1, Elsevier Applied Science, 1980.

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Ian McFarlane, Automatic Control of Food Manufacturing Processes , Elsevier Applied Science, 1983

Bernard W. Minifie, Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology , Churchill, 1970.

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Greeves, T. (1991). Introduction to food processing. In: Moore, C.A. (eds) Automation in the Food Industry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6508-6_1

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Food Processing and Farming Methods Essay

Introduction, food processing methods, farming methods, nutrition and health.

Food processing/preparation methods help preserve the nutritional integrity of food products and enhance the bioavailability of dietary nutrients. The methods also enhance food safety by eliminating food-borne microorganisms that may cause diseases. However, some processing steps affect sensitive nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, and minerals and thus, reduce their bioavailability in the diet (Afoakwa, Budu & Merson 2007). Food canning and blanching are some of the common methods used in food processing.

Food cultivation methods also affect the safety and nutritional value of foods. In particular, evidence from past studies has found significant nutritional differences between food crops grown organically and those cultivated using conventional methods (Lima & Vianello 2011). In particular, organic food products have been found to have higher levels of nutrients like vitamins and phenolic compounds and lesser pesticides and nitrates compared to food produced through conventional farming (Lima & Vianello 2011). This essay will compare, contrast, and evaluate the impact of food processing (canning and blanching) techniques as well as farming methods (organic and conventional farming) on the nutritional value of food crops. It will review relevant literature to provide a deeper insight into the characteristics and effects of these methods on nutrition.

Canning and blanching are feasible food processing techniques of the 21 st Century. In blanching, the food crops, usually fruits and vegetables, are subjected to heat treatment using steam, ultrasound, boiling water, or hot air to kill food-borne microorganisms (Rahman & Perera 1999). Blanching procedures “inactivate nutrient-degrading enzymes in food”, and thus, preserve sensitive nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and flavor in food products (Rahman & Perera 1999, p. 67). The technique also eliminates oxygen from the food making it less prone to food spoilage. On the other hand, canning encompasses various sterilization procedures that eliminate microorganisms on a food product to prolong its shelf life. According to Rafique Iqbal, Faiz, and Hashmi (2009), canning enhances the bioavailability of dietary macronutrients by denaturing amylase and trypsin inhibitors occurring in beans and grains. The sterilization step also inactivates thiamine-degrading enzymes in fish, seafood, and cabbage and therefore, increases the bioavailability of thiamine present in these foods (Rafique et al. 2009).

Although canning and blanching of food increase the bioavailability of nutrients, these procedures destroy the heat-sensitive nutrients leading to nutrient loss. Canning destroys vitamins soluble in water, such as thiamine, as they are more sensitive to heat treatment than fat-soluble ones (Rafique et al. 2009). Afoakwa, Budu, and Merson (2007) note that nutrient loss in canned food depends on the amount of heat that is applied during the pre-treatment step, the type of tin, and the type of nutrients in the food. Blanching has also been associated with nutrient loss. Blanching that uses boiling water causes the leaching of water-soluble nutrients such as vitamin C and thiamine (Ramesh, Wolf, Tevini & Bognar 2002). However, a study by Gamboa-Santos, Montilla, Soria, and Villamie (2012) established that blanching using the ultrasound method inactivates degenerative enzymes, pectin methylesterase, and peroxidase, which reduce the risk of leaching. Thus, the use of techniques such as hot air or ultrasound can reduce nutrient leaching during blanching.

Canned or tinned food is highly popular around the world. Most plant and animal products can be canned, but each food type requires different canning conditions to preserve nutrients and destroy microorganisms that cause food spoilage. In contrast, over the last decade, there has been a growing use of blanching in the preservation of fruits and vegetables, especially carrots due to their immense nutritional benefits (phenols) as well as anticancer and antioxidant properties (Gamboa-Santos et al. 2012). Since blanching involves mild treatment of perishable produce, the technique does not have much effect on the nutritional value of food. Moreover, blanching only denatures peroxidase enzymes that accelerate the degeneration of food (Rahman & Perera 1999). In comparison, in canning, the pre-treatment and canning conditions can lead to nutrient loss. For instance, Rafique et al. (2009) established that the canning of spinach and tomatoes leads to loss of essential micronutrients such as zinc, copper, and nickel through the water in the cans. Thus, overall, blanching is an effective food processing technique compared to food canning.

Organic food crops differ in terms of nutritional value from food crops grown through conventional farming methods (fertilizer-based). Studies have found differences in micronutrient levels, including minerals and vitamins, between fruits/vegetables grown organically and those cultivated using conventional farming methods. Bourn and Prescott (2002) found that organically grown strawberries, apples, and potatoes, among others, have less nitrogen content, high mineral content (calcium, sodium, and iron), and high levels of vitamin C. In contrast, food crops grown through conventional farming, which involves the use of fertilizers (nitrates) and pesticides, have relatively high nitrate and pesticide levels (Lima & Vianello 2011). Thus, the type of fertilizer used can cause variation in nutrient content between these food types.

Organic farming relies on manure-based fertilization, while conventional farming uses synthetic nitrate fertilizers. Stracke, Rufer, Weibel, Bub, and Watzl (2009) report that manure-based fertilization results in improved vitamin A, C, and B12 compared to nitrate-based fertilization of various crops grown under similar climatic conditions. The difference in fertilization between the two methods causes variations in nutrient content. Another study by Raigon, Rodriguez-Burruezo, and Prohens (2010) found a variation in the level of phytochemicals in food crops grown using the two farming methods. Phytochemicals are phenolic compounds such as lycopene (tomatoes) and carotene (carrots) that protect crops from pests (Stracke et al. 2009). The differences between conventional and organic farming practices affect the level of phenolic compounds in food products. Phenolic compounds influence food flavors as well as the anticancer and antioxidant properties of food. Thus, an evaluation of the nutritional value of organic- and conventional-plant-based food is important as they have significant effects on physical health. The evidence reviewed in this paper indicates that organic farming produces nutritionally superior food compared to conventional farming.

Conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers have been associated with unhealthy dietary habits (Dangour et al. 2009). Dietary imbalances arise when an individual’s nutrient intake does not reflect his/her RDA requirements. Dietary imbalances increase the risk of developing chronic diseases. Moreover, food products (fruits and vegetables) that have low vitamin and mineral content cause diseases such as anemia (iron deficiency), night blindness (vitamin A), and scurvy (vitamin C), among others. Nutritionally superior food products provide macro-and micro-nutrients in the correct amounts in the diet and thus, reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases.

Food processing and farming methods have significant impacts on the nutritional value of foods. Food processing techniques such as blanching and canning not only cause the loss of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), but also affect the bioavailability of essential nutrients in the diet. Farming methods, including conventional and organic farming, also alter the nutritional value of food due to the effects of fertilizers and pesticides. The emergence of chronic conditions in the 21 st Century warrants the evaluation of existing techniques in order to identify good farming practices and food processing techniques that would improve public health outcomes.

Afoakwa, O Budu, A & Merson, A 2007, ‘Response surface methodology for studying the effect of processing conditions on some nutritional and textural properties of bambara groundnuts’, International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition , vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 270-281, Web.

Bourn, D & Prescott, A 2002, ‘A comparison of the nutritional value, sensory qualities, and food safety of organically and conventionally produced foods’, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition , vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 1-34, Web.

Dangour, A Dodhia, S Hayter, A Allen, E Lock, K & Uauy, R 2009, ‘Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , vol. 90, no. 3, pp. 680-685, Web.

Gamboa-Santos, J Montilla, A Soria, A & Villamie, M 2012, ‘Effects of conventional and ultrasound blanching on enzyme inactivation and carbohydrate content of carrots’

European Food Research and Technology , vol. 234, no. 1, pp. 1071–1079, Web.

Lima, G & Vianello, F 2011, ‘Review on the main differences between organic and conventional plant-based foods’ International Journal of Food Science and Technology , vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 1–13, Web.

Rafique, U Iqbal, S Faiz, S & Hashmi, A 2009, ‘Analysis of Variation in Concentration of Essential and Nonessential elements in Canned and Fresh Food’, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation , vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 186–203, Web.

Raigon, M Rodriguez-Burruezo, A & Prohens, J 2010, ‘Effects of organic and conventional cultivation methods on composition of eggplant fruits’ , Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry , vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 833-840, Web.

Rahman, M & Perera, C 1999, Drying and Food Preservation , Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, Web.

Ramesh, M Wolf, W Tevini, D & Bognar, A 2002, ‘Microwave blanching of vegetables’ , Journal of Food Sciences, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 390 – 398, Web.

Stracke, B Rufer, C Weibel, F Bub, A & Watzl, B 2009, ‘Three-year comparison of the polyphenol contents and antioxidant capacities in organically and conventionally produced apples’ , Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry , vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 4598-4605, Web.

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• Biology Article

Food Processing

“Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or one form of food into other forms.”

What is Food processing?

Food Processing is the process of transforming food items into a form that can be used. It can cover the processing of raw materials into food via different physical and chemical processes. Various activities covered in this process are mincing, cooking, canning, liquefaction, pickling, macerating and emulsification.

It takes clean, harvested crops, or butchered and slaughtered animal products to produce attractive, marketable, and in several cases, life-long food products. However, food processing can also lower the nutritional value of the food and might include additives that might adversely affect health.

Objectives of Food Processing

Food technology is a very vast domain concerning with the production and processing of food. Food processing has certain objectives, such as:

• It boosts the shelf life of food products.
• Prevent food-contamination.
• Food storage and Transportation.
• Turns raw food materials into attractive, marketable products.
• Provide employment to a large population.

Also Read:  Food Adulteration

Food processing Methods

There are certain criteria that have to be compiled for the appropriate processing of food, right from the possibility of a pest or  bacteria to invade and multiply on foods to the biological activity of foods. The following methods are applied for the proper processing of food:

• Peeling off the outer layers of the raw materials.
• Chopping or slicing
• Liquefaction
• Fermentation
• Emulsification
• Gasification such as the addition of a gas in bread or soft drinks.
• Spray drying
• Pasteurization

Other Methods of Food Processing

Food preservation is a process involved in food processing employed to prevent the growth of fungi, bacteria, and many other microorganisms. It involves the process of slowing down the oxidation of fats that would lead to rancidity. There are several food preservation methods that are designed specifically to preserve food. Some of the selected few preservation methods are stated below:

It is one of the traditional techniques that are employed to decompose food products. Exposure of food particles to sunlight to dry them is one such method done naturally. This process would result in the evaporation of moisture content from food, thus preventing microorganisms from invading the food. Moisture from food could also be removed by using hot air

It is a technique of preserving food by slowing down the growth of microorganisms and action of an enzyme that is responsible for the rotting of food. Some of the food products such as meat, dairy products, and fish could be stored in a refrigerator thus increasing the shelf-life of the products.

It is one of the regular processes that has been under use domestically and commercially to preserve a wide range of foods. Rapid freezing might have an adverse effect on the texture of food.

The majority of microorganisms and spores could be destroyed by applying sufficient heat to food items. One of the known examples includes boiling of milk.

It is a process of preserving food in an edible and antimicrobial liquid. Pickling could be categorized into two types, namely fermentation and thermal pickling.

In fermentation pickling, bacteria present in a liquid produces organic agents which would act as preservation agents.

In chemical pickling, the food is preserved in an edible liquid that destroys microorganisms and bacteria.

Benefits of Food processing

The important benefits of food processing include:

• Food processing reduces the number of harmful bacteria in food that can cause diseases. For eg., drying, pickling dehydrates the food product and alters the pH that prevents the growth of harmful microorganisms.
• It also improves the shelf-life of food products.
• It reduces health inequalities and major health concerns.

Drawbacks of Food Processing

The important drawbacks of food processing include:

• Processed food contains artificial ingredients.
• A large number of resources are spent in making the food pleasant to the brain that leads to overconsumption.
• Processed foods are the biggest source of added sugar that is very unhealthy.

Also Read:  Food production

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Food Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on food.

Food is the basic human need to stay alive. Moreover, it is the need of every living organism . Therefore it is important that we should not waste food. Our world consists of different types of cultures. These cultures have varieties of dishes of food in them.

Thus, all the dishes have different taste. Furthermore, our nature provides us a variety of food. From fruits to vegetables, from Dairy food to seafood everything is available. Different countries have their own specialty of dishes. Therefore some of them are below:

World-famous Cuisines

Italian Cuisines – Italian cuisines is one of the most popular cuisines around the world. Moreover, it is widely available in our India too. Dishes like pizza, pasta, and lasagna own a special place in the hearts’ of people.

Furthermore, restaurants like Dominos and Pizza hut are available all over the country. People of every age love the taste of these Italian dishes. Also, Italian dishes are famous for their’ cheese filling. Every dish is load with cheese. Which enhances the taste of these Italian dishes.

Indian cuisine – Indian cuisine is always filled with a lot of herbs and spices. Furthermore, the specialty of Indian dishes is, it is always filled with curries. Whether veg or non-veg the dishes are in curry form. Moreover, Indian cuisine has so many varieties of food that has further branches. The Branch consists of Mughal cuisine which is mostly of non-vegetarian dishes. Also, almost every Indian love Muglia dishes.

Chinese Cuisine – Chinese cuisine in India is also very popular. There are many Chinese theme-based restaurants here. Moreover, in these restaurants Chinese are preferable chefs because they can only give the perfect Chinese blend. Chinese cuisines have a wide variety of dishes. Some of them are Chinese noodles, fried rice, Dumplings, etc. Dumplings have a different name here. They go by the name of momos in India and people love the taste of it.

These were some of the favorites of Indian people. Moreover, these are in almost every part of the city. You can find it anywhere, whether be it in 5-star restaurants or at the side of the street as street foods.

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Importance of Food in Our Life

We cannot deny the importance of food in our lives. As it is the basic need to survive. Yet some people waste not thinking that there are still some people that do not get any of it. We should always be careful while taking a meal on our plates.

In other words, we should take only that much that our stomach can allow. Or else there will be wasting of food . In India there are many people living in slums, they do not have proper shelter. Moreover, they are not able to have even a one-time meal. They starve for days and are always in a state of sickness.

Many children are there on roads who are laboring to get a daily meal. After seeing conditions like these people should not dare to waste food. Moreover, we should always provide food to the needy ones as much as we can.

Q1. Name any two different types of cuisines available in India.

A1. The two different types of cuisines available in India are Italian and Chinese cuisine. These are famous apart from Indian cuisine.

Q2. How can we not waste food?

A2. You cannot waste food by taking only a sufficient amount of it. Moreover, people should seal pack the leftover food and give it to the beggars. So that they can at least stay healthy and not starve.

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Edible insects as ingredients in food products: nutrition, functional properties, allergenicity of insect proteins, and processing modifications

Affiliations.

• 1 School of Environment and Resources, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, China.
• 2 Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Processing & Storage of Distinct Agricultural Products, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, China.
• 3 School of Food Nutrition and Health (Hotpot) Modern Industry, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, China.
• 4 College of Food Science, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
• PMID: 37341655
• DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2223644

Edible insect products contain high-quality protein and other nutrients, including minerals and fatty acids. The consumption of insect food products is considered a future trend and a potential strategy that could greatly contribute to meeting food needs worldwide. However, insect proteins have the potential to be allergenic to insect consumers. In this review, the nutritional value and allergy risk of insect-derived foods, and the immune responses elicited by insect allergens are summarized and discussed. Tropomyosin and arginine kinase are the most important and widely known insect allergens, which induce Th2-biased immune responses and reduced the activity of CD4 + T regulatory cells. Besides, food processing methods have been effectively improving the nutrients and characteristics of insect products. However, limited reviews systematically address the immune reactions to allergens present in edible insect proteins following treatment with food processing technologies. The conventional/novel food processing techniques and recent advances in reducing the allergenicity of insect proteins are discussed in this review, focusing on the structural changes of allergens and immune regulation.

Keywords: Edible insects; IgE-binding ability; food allergy; food processing; immune response.

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U.S. company fined $650,000 for illegally hiring children to clean meat processing plants

DES MOINES, Iowa — A Tennessee-based sanitation company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars after a federal investigation found it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that Fayette Janitorial Service LLC entered into a consent judgment, in which the company agrees to nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and the court-ordered mandate that it no longer employs minors. The February filing indicated federal investigators believed at least four children had still been working at one Iowa slaughterhouse as of Dec. 12.

U.S. law prohibits companies from employing people younger than 18 to work in meat processing plants because of the hazards.

The Labor Department alleged that Fayette used 15 underage workers at a Perdue Farms plant in Accomac, Virginia, and at least nine at Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City, Iowa. The work included sanitizing dangerous equipment like head splitters, jaw pullers and meat bandsaws in hazardous conditions where animals are killed and rendered.

One 14-year-old was severely injured while cleaning the drumstick packing line belt at the plant in Virginia, the investigation alleged.

Perdue Farms and Seaboard Triumph Foods said in February they terminated their contracts with Fayette.

The agreement stipulates that Fayette will hire a third-party consultant to monitor the company’s compliance with child labor laws for at least three years, as well as to facilitate trainings. The company must also establish a hotline for individuals to report concerns about child labor abuses.

A spokesperson for Fayette told The Associated Press in February that the company was cooperating with the investigation and has a “zero-tolerance policy for minor labor.”

The Labor Department has called attention to a growing list of child labor violations across the country, including the fatal mangling  of a 16-year-old working at a Mississippi poultry plant, the death of a 16-year-old after  an accident at a sawmill in Wisconsin , and last year’s report of  more than 100 children illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI , across 13 meatpacking plants. PSSI paid over $1.5 million in civil penalties.

The Labor Department’s latest statistics indicate the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S. has increased 88% since 2019.

The Associated Press

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Guest Essay

A Year on Ozempic Taught Me We’re Thinking About Obesity All Wrong

By Johann Hari

Mr. Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs.”

Ever since I was a teenager, I have dreamed of shedding a lot of weight. So when I shrank from 203 pounds to 161 in a year, I was baffled by my feelings. I was taking Ozempic, and I was haunted by the sense that I was cheating and doing something immoral.

I’m not the only one. In the United States (where I now split my time), over 70 percent of people are overweight or obese, and according to one poll, 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay to take the new weight-loss drugs. It’s not hard to see why. They cause users to lose an average of 10 to 20 percent of their body weight, and clinical trials suggest that the next generation of drugs (probably available soon) leads to a 24 percent loss, on average. Yet as more and more people take drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, we get more confused as a culture, bombarding anyone in the public eye who takes them with brutal shaming.

This is happening because we are trapped in a set of old stories about what obesity is and the morally acceptable ways to overcome it. But the fact that so many of us are turning to the new weight-loss drugs can be an opportunity to find a way out of that trap of shame and stigma — and to a more truthful story.

In my lifetime, obesity has exploded, from being rare to almost being the norm. I was born in 1979, and by the time I was 21, obesity rates in the United States had more than doubled . They have skyrocketed since. The obvious question is, why? And how do these new weight-loss drugs work? The answer to both lies in one word: satiety. It’s a concept that we don’t use much in everyday life but that we’ve all experienced at some point. It describes the sensation of having had enough and not wanting any more.

The primary reason we have gained weight at a pace unprecedented in human history is that our diets have radically changed in ways that have deeply undermined our ability to feel sated. My father grew up in a village in the Swiss mountains, where he ate fresh, whole foods that had been cooked from scratch and prepared on the day they were eaten. But in the 30 years between his childhood and mine, in the suburbs of London, the nature of food transformed across the Western world. He was horrified to see that almost everything I ate was reheated and heavily processed. The evidence is clear that the kind of food my father grew up eating quickly makes you feel full. But the kind of food I grew up eating, much of which is made in factories, often with artificial chemicals, left me feeling empty and as if I had a hole in my stomach. In a recent study of what American children eat, ultraprocessed food was found to make up 67 percent of their daily diet. This kind of food makes you want to eat more and more. Satiety comes late, if at all.

One scientific experiment — which I have nicknamed Cheesecake Park — seemed to me to crystallize this effect. Paul Kenny, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, grew up in Ireland. After he moved in 2000 to the United States, when he was in his 20s, he gained 30 pounds in two years. He began to wonder if the American diet has some kind of strange effect on our brains and our cravings, so he designed an experiment to test it. He and his colleague Paul Johnson raised a group of rats in a cage and gave them an abundant supply of healthy, balanced rat chow made out of the kind of food rats had been eating for a very long time. The rats would eat it when they were hungry, and then they seemed to feel sated and stopped. They did not become fat.

But then Dr. Kenny and his colleague exposed the rats to an American diet: fried bacon, Snickers bars, cheesecake and other treats. They went crazy for it. The rats would hurl themselves into the cheesecake, gorge themselves and emerge with their faces and whiskers totally slicked with it. They quickly lost almost all interest in the healthy food, and the restraint they used to show around healthy food disappeared. Within six weeks, their obesity rates soared.

After this change, Dr. Kenny and his colleague tweaked the experiment again (in a way that seems cruel to me, a former KFC addict). They took all the processed food away and gave the rats their old healthy diet. Dr. Kenny was confident that they would eat more of it, proving that processed food had expanded their appetites. But something stranger happened. It was as though the rats no longer recognized healthy food as food at all, and they barely ate it. Only when they were starving did they reluctantly start to consume it again.

Though Dr. Kenny’s study was in rats, we can see forms of this behavior everywhere. We are all living in Cheesecake Park — and the satiety-stealing effect of industrially assembled food is evidently what has created the need for these medications. Drugs like Ozempic work precisely by making us feel full. Carel le Roux, a scientist whose research was important to the development of these drugs, says they boost what he and others once called “satiety hormones.”

Once you understand this context, it becomes clear that processed and ultraprocessed food create a raging hole of hunger, and these treatments can repair that hole. Michael Lowe, a professor of psychology at Drexel University who has studied hunger for 40 years, told me the drugs are “an artificial solution to an artificial problem.”

Yet we have reacted to this crisis largely caused by the food industry as if it were caused only by individual moral dereliction. I felt like a failure for being fat and was furious with myself for it. Why do we turn our anger inward and not outward at the main cause of the crisis? And by extension, why do we seek to shame people taking Ozempic but not those who, say, take drugs to lower their blood pressure?

The answer, I think, lies in two very old notions. The first is the belief that obesity is a sin. When Pope Gregory I laid out the seven deadly sins in the sixth century, one of them was gluttony, usually illustrated with grotesque-seeming images of overweight people. Sin requires punishment before you can get to redemption. Think about the competition show “The Biggest Loser,” on which obese people starve and perform extreme forms of exercise in visible agony in order to demonstrate their repentance.

The second idea is that we are all in a competition when it comes to weight. Ours is a society full of people fighting against the forces in our food that are making us fatter. It is often painful to do this: You have to tolerate hunger or engage in extreme forms of exercise. It feels like a contest in which each thin person creates additional pressure on others to do the same. Looked at in this way, people on Ozempic can resemble athletes like the cyclist Lance Armstrong who used performance-enhancing drugs. Those who manage their weight without drugs might think, “I worked hard for this, and you get it for as little as a weekly jab?”

We can’t find our way to a sane, nontoxic conversation about obesity or Ozempic until we bring these rarely spoken thoughts into the open and reckon with them. You’re not a sinner for gaining weight. You’re a typical product of a dysfunctional environment that makes it very hard to feel full. If you are angry about these drugs, remember the competition isn’t between you and your neighbor who’s on weight-loss drugs. It’s between you and a food industry constantly designing new ways to undermine your satiety. If anyone is the cheat here, it’s that industry. We should be united in a struggle against it and its products, not against desperate people trying to find a way out of this trap.

There are extraordinary benefits as well as disturbing risks associated with weight-loss drugs. Reducing or reversing obesity hugely boosts health, on average: We know from years of studying bariatric surgery that it slashes the risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes-related death. Early indications are that the new anti-obesity drugs are moving people in a similar radically healthier direction, massively reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. But these drugs may increase the risk for thyroid cancer. I am worried they diminish muscle mass and fear they may supercharge eating disorders. This is a complex picture in which the evidence has to be weighed very carefully.

But we can’t do that if we remain lost in stories inherited from premodern popes or in a senseless competition that leaves us all, in the end, losers. Do we want these weight loss drugs to be another opportunity to tear one another down? Or do we want to realize that the food industry has profoundly altered the appetites of us all — leaving us trapped in the same cage, scrambling to find a way out?

Johann Hari is a British journalist and the author of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits — and Disturbing Risks — of the New Weight Loss Drugs,” among other books.

Source photographs by seamartini, The Washington Post, and Zana Munteanu via Getty Images.

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