Nutrición y ciencia | Bimbo BNutrition

Whether at home, a restaurant, a food stall or even the food industry, processes are followed to prepare good-quality products that meet consumer expectations. During processing, foods can be washed, peeled, chopped, cooked, mixed, roasted, fried, refrigerated or frozen. Each step is part of a process.

Regardless their origin or nature–animal or plant, fresh or thermally treated, organic or not–, all foods have a certain degree of processing trying to improve their quality for the benefit of consumers.

History of Processed Foods

First societies were developed thanks to their ability to have food available, which guaranteed their survival. Once animals were domesticated and plants were harvested–agriculture and livestock farming boosted production potential and, with it, the need to preserve foods.

Big civilizations then started to perfect their drying, salting, nixtamalization and fermenting processes. Along the years, whether motivated by the need to feed troops during battle or to keep astronauts safe, food technologies have achieved to develop safer and safer products.

The constant growth of populations have also increased food demand; at the same time, changes in lifestyles and eating habits become a constant challenge for the food industry. Food processing has become a necessary activity to face said challenges and nowadays is focused on making foods safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable.

To succeed, it is necessary for manufacturers, distributors, governments, health institutions, and even consumers, to work together. The objective is to reach agreements among all actors and each country designs the most adequate strategy to foster the health of its inhabitants.

Nevertheless, some believe foods which have undergone industrial processes lose value, they stop being natural and even could be harmful. Truth is that, to guarantee safety, sensory and nutritional quality of food, it is necessary to monitor and control product quality rigorously.

Quality escalation in production is possible; in order to do so, from our homes to industrial plants, facilities, equipment and certified personnel working at food plants have the tools to make sure quality standards are met, which are in turn monitored and observed by government agencies. Without this technical and scientific support, access to safe food would be at risk making each part of the supply chain (production, transportation, and storage) vulnerable.

Even today, contaminated products cause thousands of deaths per year, and microbial spoilage results in food lose. However, food technologies and process controls in food production have diminished the presence of these biological agents which trigger illnesses, as well as the reduced microorganisms associated to food decay.

Food processing reduces or gets rid of risks linked to the presence of biological agents and it also limits physical and chemical risks. A considerable amount of physical food contaminants are connected to bad manufacturing practices. Using state-of-the-art technology removes stones, bones, bone splinters and even glass or metal shards more efficiently.

Likewise, there are some myths surrounding chemical food contaminants; they are generally associated to the presence of pesticides, insecticides and other substances used on food. Nonetheless, the very nature of food is made up of chemical structures with different functions. Many of the chemical components naturally found in products of plant origin might act as antinutrients, since they prevent efficient food nutrient absorption.

Processes such as soaking, cooking, blanching, germination, extrusion and fermentation reduce or eliminate antinutrient factors like tannins, oxalates, trypsin and amylase inhibitors, hemagglutinins, saponins, and phytates. The use of additives in processed foods has been vilified; notwithstanding, many additives have been used for centuries and are part of culinary traditions. For instance, spices have been used to add flavor and scent to food, but also to preserve it; antioxidants such as lime juice are used to prevent apples and avocados from oxidizing; thickeners, like cornstarch, are used to add texture to soups and traditional beverages like Mexican atole.

Food additives are substances added to foods to improve their properties or preserve them for longer time; its use goes through a long approval process to make sure they are safe to eat in the amounts advised by health institutions. This means the use of additives is supported by domestic and international regulations.

According to the World Health Organization, micronutrients deficiency is a public health issue–it is more profound in populations that have rice, wheat, and corn as the basis of their diet. Thanks to food processing, phytates limiting availability and reducing the absorption of micronutrients like iron, zinc, and calcium can be reduced in a thirty to forty per cent.

Traditionally, processed food has been a great alternative to compensate vitamin and mineral deficiencies; a good example of this is milk with added vitamins A and D and fortified with flours. This is how food processing improves the nutritional quality of products through practices such as fortification (an extra amount of micronutrients present naturally in the food is added–like vitamin C in juice or calcium in milk), enrichment (nutrients not commonly present in the product are added–like mayonnaise enriched with phytosterols or cookies with agave syrup or inulin), and composition changes made to remove, reduce or replace some nutrients.

Other examples of how food processing improves nutritional quality of products can be seen in breadmaking processes when flours added with soluble and insoluble fibers are used as to increase the nutritional quality of bread and improve its texture. Likewise, thermal treatments are employed to increase antioxidant and vitamin levels by favoring their release and increasing their bioavailability–even using emerging technologies such as pulsed light which has proven to increase concentration and bioavailability of phytochemicals in products of plant origin.

Without food processing it would impossible to guarantee the right populations have to a varied, nutritious, accessible and safe diet. New technologies, other than making food more available, convenient and safer, reduce waste and improve the health of both people and the planet.

Reference List
Álvarez Mayorga, B. L. (2020, febrero 4). Alimentos procesados y la salud.

Curiel Monteagudo, J. L. (2021, diciembre 1). ¿En la cocina se elaboran alimentos procesados?

EUFIC. (2014, diciembre 8). Producción alimentaria 1: Avances para cubrir las necesidades nutricionales mediante el procesado y el etiquetado.
Pedroza Islas, R. (2021b, julio 5). La biodisponibilidad de las vitaminas.
Quezada Gallo, J. A. (2021, septiembre 1). La evolución de nuestra comida.