What are Processed Foods

Processed foods are packaged foods which undergo certain processes like canning, freezing, refrigeration and sterile processing. Nicolas Appert and Clarence Birdseye are the two people who introduced processed foods to the world. The grocery stores often showcase easy-to-cook and delicious processed food.

Food is processed, essentially to make it free of harmful microorganisms. Cooking food for making it free of microorganism is also a way of processing food. Commercially processed foods undergo different processes in the labs, to increase the shelf life of food. The processing of food is done by some of the following processes:

Blanching
Blanching is a way of processing foods at home, to make it crispy and tender. Blanching process is followed by many chefs. Vegetables are blanched using simple technique. First, put the vegetables in the water and boil them until they are half-cooked, but still tender. Remove them from the boiling water immediately, and place them in an ice bath to cool them. Remove the vegetables from the ice bath as soon as they cool down. These vegetables can now be used for cooking in any way you like. This type of processing, improves the taste and you can enjoy savory crispy vegetables.

Freezing
Frozen foods like fish and peas are often consumed by many of us. Seeds of certain crops are stored at -18 degree Celsius to preserve them. Cold storage is used for storing frozen foods and these foods remain in a good state for a long time.

Canning
Canning foods is a good way of processing food. Some foods require heating at a very high temperatures to make them free of harmful microorganisms. The foods to be canned are placed in jars and heated to very high temperatures. As soon as the food and jars are cooled the jar is sealed. Mostly, preservatives are not added to the canned food. The shelf-life of food increases due to canning. Meat, poultry, seafood, pickled vegetables and fruits are some of the foodstuffs, generally available in canned forms.

Dehydrating
Dehydrating foods is also called drying, in which the water content is removed from the food. Foods are dried by blowing hot and dry air. Many vegetables, fruits, meat and fish can be processed with the drying process. Drying foodstuffs help retain vitamin A, carbohydrates and fiber. The caloric value remains the same, but the fat content decreases. The only disadvantage processing food by the drying method is that the water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C, are lost in the process of dehydration.

Pasteurization and Irradiation
French scientist Louis Pasteur introduced the technique of pasteurization. Pasteurization is used for processing milk. Milk is heated at 72 degree Celsius for 15 minutes. The pasteurization process is not intended to kill all the microorganisms; instead it preserves some useful microorganisms. Grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts are irradiated with high-energy radiations to sterilizing.

Cooking
Cooking is also a way of processing food. Various ways of cooking like grilling, stir-frying, steaming roasting preserve a lot of vitamins and minerals. Boiling foodstuffs for a long time, is generally not preferred because such a way of processing foods may decrease the nutritional value of foods.

Fertilizers
Some fertilizers increase the protein content of crops. Organic and non-organic fertilizers, are both capable of altering the protein content of the crops. However, excessive use of fertilizers must be avoided, as this may cause health problems.

List of healthy processed foods

• Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes
• Grains and cereals which includes whole grain breakfast cereals, whole grain pastas and whole grain breads
• Fish and poultry
• Eggs
• Herbal teas, juices and milk
• Low-fat cheese and yogurt
• Soups and sauces having a low sodium content
• Low-fat turkey slices and sliced roasted beef for making sandwiches

Choose low calorie and low fat processed foods. Processed food can be healthy, if you choose to eat wisely, taking into consideration the nutritional value of food. Most processed foods are good for health, but try to avoid the unhealthy, high-fat and high-sodium processed foods. Have a great time eating processed foods!