![Production of cheese 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Production_of_cheese_1.jpg)
Food processing is the transformation of
agricultural products
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
into
food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding
grain to make raw
flour to
home cooking
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vario ...
to complex industrial methods used to make
convenience food
Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily p ...
s. Some food processing methods play important roles in reducing
food waste
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...
and improving
food preservation, thus reducing the total
environmental impact of agriculture
The environmental impact of agriculture is the effect that different farming practices have on the ecosystems around them, and how those effects can be traced back to those practices. The environmental impact of agriculture varies widely based on p ...
and improving
food security
Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...
.
Primary food processing is necessary to make most foods
edible
An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...
, and secondary food processing turns the
ingredients into familiar foods, such as
bread. Tertiary food processing has been criticized for promoting
overnutrition
Overnutrition (also known as hyperalimentation) is a form of malnutrition in which the intake of nutrients is oversupplied. The amount of nutrients exceeds the amount required for normal growth, development, and metabolism.
The term can also ref ...
and
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
, containing too much
sugar and
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
, too little
fiber
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorpora ...
, and otherwise being unhealthful in respect to dietary needs of humans and
farm animals
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
.
Process
Primary food processing
![03 Ban Bang Krathum Bananas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/03_Ban_Bang_Krathum_Bananas.jpg)
Primary food processing turns agricultural products, such as raw
wheat kernels or livestock, into something that can eventually be eaten. This category includes ingredients that are produced by ancient processes such as
drying
Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...
,
threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
,
winnowing
Winnowing is a process by which chaff is separated from grain. It can also be used to remove pests from stored grain. Winnowing usually follows threshing in grain preparation. In its simplest form, it involves throwing the mixture into the ...
and
milling grain,
shelling nuts, and
butchering
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...
animals for meat.
It also includes deboning and cutting meat, freezing and smoking fish and meat, extracting and filtering oils,
canning food, preserving food through
food irradiation, and
candling eggs, as well as
homogenizing
Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, s ...
and
pasteurizing milk.
Contamination and
spoilage problems in primary food processing can lead to significant
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
threats, as the resulting foods are used so widely.
However, many forms of processing contribute to improved food safety and longer
shelf life
Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...
before the food spoils.
Commercial food processing uses control systems such as
hazard analysis and critical control points
Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP (), is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe and designs mea ...
(HACCP) and
failure mode and effects analysis
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA; often written with "failure modes" in plural) is the process of reviewing as many components, assemblies, and subsystems as possible to identify potential failure modes in a system and their causes and effe ...
(FMEA) to reduce the risk of harm.
Secondary food processing
![Baking Bread Communal Oven, 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Baking_Bread_Communal_Oven%2C_2011.jpg)
Secondary food processing is the everyday process of creating food from ingredients that are ready to use.
Baking bread, regardless of whether it is made at home, in a small bakery, or in a large factory, is an example of secondary food processing.
Fermenting fish and making
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
,
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, and other alcoholic products are traditional forms of secondary food processing.
Sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
s are a common form of secondary processed meat, formed by
comminution
Comminution is the reduction of solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes. In geology, it occurs naturally during faulting in the upper part of ...
(grinding) of meat that has already undergone primary processing. Most of the secondary food processing methods known to human kind are commonly described as
cooking methods
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in variou ...
.
Tertiary food processing
Tertiary food processing is the commercial production of what is commonly called
processed food.
These are ready-to-eat or heat-and-serve foods, such as
TV dinner
A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...
s and re-heated
airline meal
An airline meal, airline food, or in-flight meal is a meal served to passengers on board a commercial airliner. These meals are prepared by specialist airline catering services and normally served to passengers using an airline service trolley ...
s.
History
Food processing dates back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated fermenting, sun drying, preserving with
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
, and various types of
cooking (such as roasting, smoking, steaming, and oven baking), Such basic food processing involved chemical enzymatic changes to the basic structure of food in its natural form, as well served to build a barrier against surface microbial activity that caused rapid decay. Salt-preservation was especially common for foods that constituted warrior and sailors' diets until the introduction of
canning methods. Evidence for the existence of these methods can be found in the writings of the ancient
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Chaldean,
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
civilizations as well as archaeological evidence from
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
and Asia. These tried and tested processing techniques remained essentially the same until the advent of the
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Examples of ready-meals also date back to before the preindustrial revolution, and include dishes such as
Cornish pasty
A pasty () is a British baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, South West England, but has spread all over the British Isles. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetab ...
and
Haggis
Haggis ( gd, taigeis) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach though n ...
. Both during ancient times and today in modern society these are considered processed foods.
![Wakefield, Nebraska Michael Foods plant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Wakefield%2C_Nebraska_Michael_Foods_plant.JPG)
Modern food processing technology developed in the 19th and 20th centuries was developed in a large part to serve military needs. In 1809,
Nicolas Appert
Nicolas Appert (17 November 1749 – 1 June 1841) was the French inventor of airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the "father of Food Science", was a confectioner. Appert described his invention as a way "of conserving all kinds of food ...
invented a hermetic bottling technique that would preserve food for French troops which ultimately contributed to the development of tinning, and subsequently canning by Peter Durand in 1810. Although initially expensive and somewhat hazardous due to the lead used in cans, canned goods would later become a staple around the world.
Pasteurization, discovered by
Louis Pasteur in 1864, improved the quality and safety of preserved foods and introduced the wine, beer, and milk preservation.
![Erbswurst-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Erbswurst-1.jpg)
In the 20th century,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the
space race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...
and the rising consumer society in developed countries contributed to the growth of food processing with such advances as
spray drying
Spray drying is a method of changing a dry powder from a liquid or slurry by rapidly drying with a hot gas. This is the preferred method of drying of many thermally-sensitive materials such as foods and pharmaceuticals, or materials which may requ ...
,
evaporation, juice concentrates,
freeze drying
Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by most conve ...
and the introduction of artificial sweeteners, colouring agents, and such preservatives as
sodium benzoate
Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, widely used as a food preservative (with an E number of E211) and a pickling agent. It appears as a white crystalline chemical with the formula C6H5COONa.
Production
Sodium benzoate is commo ...
. In the late 20th century, products such as dried instant soups, reconstituted fruits and juices, and self cooking meals such as
MRE
A Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging purchased by the United States Department of Defense for its service members for use in combat or field conditions where other food is not avail ...
food ration were developed. By the 20th century, automatic appliances like
microwave oven
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce ...
,
blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
, and
rotimatic
Rotimatic is an automated kitchen appliance that makes flatbread. It was invented by Indian-origin couple Pranoti Nagarkar and Rishi Israni in 2008.
Rotimatic uses machine learning to make bread and takes about a 90 seconds to make one roti. It ...
paved way for
convenience cooking
Convenience cooking is the practice of streamlining recipes for simplicity and speed of preparation. It is a common practice in Western cultures, where both men and women work outside the home and elaborate meals are difficult if not impossible to ...
.
In western Europe and North America, the second half of the 20th century witnessed a rise in the pursuit of convenience. Food processing companies marketed their products especially towards middle-class working wives and mothers. Frozen foods (often credited to
Clarence Birdseye
Clarence Birdseye (December 9, 1886 – October 7, 1956) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during ...
) found their success in sales of juice concentrates and "
TV dinner
A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...
s". Processors utilised the perceived value of time to appeal to the postwar population, and this same appeal contributes to the success of
convenience food
Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily p ...
s today.
Benefits and drawbacks
Benefits
![Processed seafood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Processed_seafood.jpg)
Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases yearly availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Modern
supermarkets would not exist without modern food processing techniques, and long voyages would not be possible.
Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long-distance transportation from the source to the
consumer
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
.
When they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to
alleviate food shortages and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available to the masses.
Processing can also reduce the incidence of food-borne disease. Fresh materials, such as fresh
produce
Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...
and raw meats, are more likely to harbour pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses.
The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of much hard labor gives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food unimaginable to their ancestors.
The act of processing can often improve the taste of food significantly.
Mass production of food is much cheaper overall than individual production of meals from raw ingredients. Therefore, a large
profit potential exists for the manufacturers and suppliers of processed food products. Individuals may see a benefit in
convenience
Convenient procedures, products and services are those intended to increase ease in accessibility, save resources (such as time, effort and energy) and decrease frustration. A modern convenience is a labor-saving device, service or substance ...
, but rarely see any direct financial cost benefit in using processed food as compared to home preparation.
Processed food freed people from the large amount of time involved in preparing and cooking "natural" unprocessed foods. The increase in free time allows people much more choice in life style than previously allowed. In many families the adults are working away from home and therefore there is little time for the preparation of food based on fresh ingredients. The
food industry offers products that fulfill many different needs: e.g. fully prepared
ready meal
A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...
s that can be heated up in the
microwave oven
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce ...
within a few minutes.
Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for people with allergies,
diabetics
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased a ...
, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients such as
vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...
s.
Drawbacks
![Meat packages in a Roman supermarket](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Meat_packages_in_a_Roman_supermarket.jpg)
Processing of food can decrease its nutritional density. The amount of nutrients lost depends on the food and processing method. For example, heat destroys
vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...
. Therefore, canned fruits possess less vitamin C than their fresh alternatives. The
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
conducted a study of nutrient retention in 2004, creating a table of foods, levels of preparation, and nutrition.
New research highlighting the importance to human health of a rich microbial environment in the intestine indicates that abundant food processing (not fermentation of foods) endangers that environment.
Using some
food additives represents another safety concern. The health risks of any given additive vary greatly from person to person; for example using sugar as an additive endangers diabetics. In the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, only
European Food Safety Authority
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...
(EFSA) approved food additives (e.g., sweeteners, preservatives, stabilizers) are permitted at specified levels for use in food products. Approved additives receive an E number (E for Europe), simplifying communication about food additives included in the ingredients list for all the different languages spoken in the EU. As the effects of chemical additives are learned, changes to laws and regulatory practices are made to make such processed foods more safe.
Food processing is typically a mechanical process that utilizes extrusion, large mixing, grinding, chopping and emulsifying equipment in the production process. These processes introduce a number of contamination risks. Such contaminants are left over material from a previous operation, animal or human bodily fluids, microorganisms, nonmetallic and metallic fragments. Further processing of these contaminants will result in downstream equipment failure and the risk of ingestion by the consumer. Example: A mixing bowl or grinder is used over time, metal parts in contact with food will tend to fail and fracture. This type of failure will introduce into the product stream small to large metal contaminants. Further processing of these metal fragments will result in downstream equipment failure and the risk of ingestion by the consumer. Food manufacturers utilize
industrial metal detectors to detect and reject automatically any metal fragment. Large food processors will utilize many metal detectors within the processing stream to reduce both damage to processing machinery as well as risk to consumer health.
Food processing does have some benefits, such as making food last longer and making products more convenient. However, heavily processed foods also have drawbacks. Whole foods and those that are only minimally processed, like frozen vegetables without any sauce, tend to be more healthy. An unhealthy diet high in fat, added sugar and salt, such as one containing much highly processed food, can increase the risk for cancer,
type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...
and heart disease, according to the World Health Organization.
Added sodium
One of the main sources for sodium in the diet is processed foods. Sodium, mostly in the form of
sodium chloride, i.e. salt, is added to prevent spoilage, add flavor and enhance the texture of these foods. Some processed food may contain over 2% salt. Americans consume an average of 3436 milligrams of sodium per day, which is higher than the recommended limit of 2300 milligrams per day for healthy people, and more than twice the limit of 1500 milligrams per day for those at increased risk for heart disease.
Added sugars
While it is not necessary to limit the sugars found naturally in whole, unprocessed foods like fresh fruit, eating too much
added sugar found in many processed foods increases the risk of heart disease, obesity, cavities and Type 2 diabetes. The
American Heart Association recommends women limit added sugars to no more than , or 25 grams, and men limit added sugars to no more than , or about 38.75 grams, per day. Currently, Americans consume an average of from added sugars each day.
Nutrient losses
Processing foods often involves nutrient losses, which can make it harder to meet the body's needs if these nutrients aren't added back through fortification or enrichment. For example, using high heat during processing can cause vitamin C losses. Another example is refined grains, which have less fiber, vitamins and minerals than whole grains. Eating refined grains, such as those found in many processed foods, instead of whole grains may increase the risk for high
cholesterol
Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...
, diabetes and obesity, according to a study published in "
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
''The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition'' (''AJCN'') is a monthly peer-reviewed biomedical journal in the fields of dietetics and clinical nutrition.
The journal was established in 1952 as the ''Journal of Clinical Nutrition'', edited by ...
" in December 2007.
Trans fats
Foods that have undergone processing, including some commercial baked goods, desserts, margarine, frozen pizza, microwave popcorn and coffee creamers, sometimes contain
trans fats. This is the most unhealthy type of fat, and may increase risk for high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends keeping trans fat intake as low as possible.
Other potential disadvantages
Processed foods may actually take less energy to digest than whole foods, according to a study published in "
Food & Nutrition Research" in 2010, meaning more of their food energy content is retained within the body. Processed foods also tend to be more allergenic than whole foods, according to a June 2004 "Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology" article. Although the preservatives and other food additives used in many processed foods are generally recognized as safe, a few may cause problems for some individuals, including sulfites, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and flavors, sodium nitrate, BHA and BHT, olestra, caffeine and
monosodium glutamate
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wi ...
— a flavor enhancer.
Performance parameters for food processing
![Factory Automation Robotics Palettizing Bread](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Factory_Automation_Robotics_Palettizing_Bread.jpg)
When designing processes for the food industry the following performance parameters may be taken into account:
*
Hygiene
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
, e.g. measured by number of micro-organisms per mL of finished product.
*
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
measured e.g. by “ton of steam per ton of sugar produced”.
*
Minimization of waste, measured e.g. by “percentage of peeling loss during the peeling of potatoes”.
*
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
used, measured e.g. by “number of working hours per ton of finished product”.
* Minimization of cleaning stops measured e.g. by “number of hours between cleaning stops”.
Industries
Food processing industries and practices include the following:
*
Cannery
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...
*
Fish processing
The term fish processing refers to the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer. Although the term refers specifically to fish, in ...
*
Food packaging plant
*
Industrial rendering
Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into pur ...
*
Meat packing plant
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...
*
Slaughterhouse
*
Sugar industry
See also
*
Brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
*
Canning
*
Clean-in-place
Clean-in-place (CIP) is an automated method of cleaning the interior surfaces of pipes, vessels, equipment, filters and associated fittings, without major disassembly. CIP is commonly used for equipment such as piping, tanks, and fillers. CIP emp ...
*
Dietary supplement
*
Enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...
*
Flavoring
A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gus ...
*
Food additive
* ''
Food and Bioprocess Technology''
*
Food coloring
Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...
*
Food extrusion
Extrusion in food processing consists of forcing soft mixed ingredients through an opening in a perforated plate or die designed to produce the required shape. The extruded food is then cut to a specific size by blades. The machine which forces ...
*
Food fortification
Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to food. It can be carried out by food manufacturers, or by governments as a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of p ...
*
Food quality
Food quality is a concept often based on the organoleptic characteristics (e.g., taste, aroma, appearance) and nutritional value of food. Producers reducing potential pathogens and other hazards through food safety practices is another important fa ...
*
Food rheology
Food rheology is the study of the rheological properties of food, that is, the consistency and flow of food under tightly specified conditions.
The consistency, degree of fluidity, and other mechanical properties are important in understandi ...
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Food safety
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Food science
Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...
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Food storage
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Genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Gene ...
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Good manufacturing practice
Current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) are those conforming to the guidelines recommended by relevant agencies. Those agencies control the authorization and licensing of the manufacture and sale of food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceut ...
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List of cooking techniques
This is a list of cooking techniques commonly used in cooking and food preparation.
Cooking is the art of preparing food for ingestion, commonly with the application of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, refle ...
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Material handling
Material handling involves short-distance movement within the confines of a building or between a building and a transportation vehicle. It uses a wide range of manual, semi-automated, and automated equipment and includes consideration of the pro ...
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Nutraceutical
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Pasteurization
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Pink slime
Pink slime (also known as lean finely textured beef or LFTB, finely textured beef, or boneless lean beef trimmings or BLBT) is a meat by-product used as a food additive to ground beef and beef-based processed meats, as a filler, or to red ...
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Shelf life
Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...
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Snap freezing
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Ultra-high temperature processing
Ultra-high temperature processing (UHT), ultra-heat treatment, or ultra-pasteurization is a food processing technology that sterilizes liquid food by heating it above – the temperature required to kill bacterial endospores – for 2 ...
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Ultra-processed food
Ultra-processed foods, also referred to as ultra-processed food products (UPP), are food and drink products that have undergone specified types of food processing, usually by transnational and other very large ' Big food' corporations. These f ...
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Washdown
Washdown (also wash down) is the process of cleaning or washing a surface for appearance, sanitation, or removal of contamination. It may involve pressure washing. Sometimes wash down involves rinsing with fresh water; other times it involves use ...
Notes and references
Bibliography
* ''Fábricas de alimentos'', 9th edition .
* ''Nutritional evaluation of food processing'',
* ''Food preservation'' 2nd edition, by Norman W. Desrosier.
External links
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Frozen food trends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Food Processing
Agricultural economics
Food industry
Food science
Processing
Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...
Industrial processes
Packaging
de:Lebensmittelindustrie#Industrielle Lebensmittelverarbeitung