Processed Food - What It Is

We are surrounded by processed food. So many of the products in a modern supermarket market are that it can be hard to believe. In various ways products are made smaller, tastier, more resistant, more appealing, more firm, more shiny - the list can continue. Most of the reasons behind them are economical; to cut production and transport costs down. The only exception would be in some uses of preservatives and anti bacterical substances.

Substances Used
The production processes vary, real ingredients can be replaced, removed or enhanced. The result is not always appetizing, it can smell, look and taste bad - to negate this certian substances are added. They can be grouped into:
Texture enhancers Are used to make products thicker, shinier, thinner or smoother.
Aroma enhancers Are used to make it taste better, more close to something or to negate an unpleasant taste.
Artificial Colourings Are used to achieve a certain colour.
Preservatives Are used to make food last longer. In many ways necessary to keep some foods safe for us.

The Health Aspect
There are several health aspects that can be discussed regarding these practices. Many times products loose nutritional value and valuable vitamins, fatty acids can get destroyed. Also, the added substances can create health problems like allergies and even cancer. This type of food is often containing high quantities of salt, unhealthy fats and sugar - a person living on only processed food will probably suffer from bad health. Another aspect that has been under scrutiny is how the food industry can make food that have gone bad appear good, with various methods it is possible to cheat food inspectors and their likes.

In A World Without Processed Food
The biggest reason for the food industry to apply these techniques is to make them cheaper. Would you buy a frozen pizza in the super market if it cost you three times as much? If we didn´t allow food processing techniques we would be forced to pay a lot more for the half-ready food we buy (or be ready to go back to spending hours everyday cooking). It may be hard to get away from preservatives since they add a lot of safety for us, almost all other of these substances are not of any real value to us.