Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. It includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industrial methods used to make convenience foods. Food processing can be classified into three categories:
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Primary food processing: This is necessary to make most foods edible. It involves cleaning, grading, and packaging of raw agricultural products.
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Secondary food processing: This turns ingredients into familiar foods, such as bread. It involves the alteration of a food product into another form, such as making preserves from fruit, and preservation and packaging techniques.
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Tertiary food processing: This results in ultra-processed food, which has been criticized for promoting overnutrition and obesity, containing too much sugar and salt, too little fiber, and otherwise being unhealthful in respect to dietary needs of humans and farm animals.
Food processing has been used since humanity began using fire and tools to cook meats, squeeze fruits for juice, or grind grains for flour. All processed foods use food processing, but not all food processing leads to processed foods. For example, the process of washing fruits and vegetables is a form of food processing, but it does not result in a processed food. Some food processing methods play important roles in reducing food waste and improving food preservation, thus reducing the total environmental impact of agriculture and improving food security.
