It definitely will cost more, longer time to process means more storage, less shelf life means more waste from lost sales which has to be costed in. This doesn'

It definitely will cost more, longer time to process means more storage, less shelf life means more waste from lost sales which has to be costed in. This doesn't just apply to processed meats, plenty of cheap crap is packed with preservatives, the reason it's so damn cheap is that so little of it goes to waste when it can stay on the shelf for months. That doesn't mean preservatives must be inherently bad or carcinogenic though - e.g canned foods, dehydrated fruit, while things are lost in the process it doesn't necessarily have to make the food toxic. But when you see a 20p cake you can bet it's going to be bad for you, not just because it's sugary, but because it's 20p and therefor must have a long shelf life, and cake isn't inherently long lived.