5 ms·

It actually has a rather precise definition, see: https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf Usually, articles abo

by GuB-42 5y ago

It actually has a rather precise definition, see: https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf https://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf Usually, articles about "processed food" really mean "ultra-processed". And the general idea is that ultra-processed food is that you extract food chemicals from what is usually the cheapest sources, and transform and recombine them into a final product. By contrast regular processed food normally starts with whole ingredients rather than extracts, often of better quality because you can't make up for lower quality using extra processing and additives.

chrisseaton 5y ago
> normally starts with whole ingredients rather than extracts But the extracts come from whole ingredients, so if you think about where the extracts came from then the whole process is again using whole ingredients.
- xg15 5y ago
  Yes, and technically, fries are vegetables.
  - xboxnolifes 5y ago
    Fries aren't unhealthy because they are cut. They are unhealthy because they are completely covered in oil.
karaterobot 5y ago
It's a legitimate point to raise, as page 3 of that report points out: > Food processing in itself is not the issue. One obvious reason is that nowadays, practically all food is processed in some sense and in some way. The term ‘processing’ (like the term ‘industry’) is very general and therefore not helpful, and so judgements of foods simply because they are ‘processed’ are not meaningful.
fnord77 5y ago
"Minimally processed foods are natural foods altered by methods that include removal of inedible or unwanted parts, and also processes that include drying, crushing, grinding, powdering, fractioning, filtering, roasting, boiling, non-alcoholic fermentation, pasteurization, chilling, freezing, placing in containers, and vacuum packaging. The distinction between unprocessed and minimally processed foods is not especially significant. "
- Ekaros 5y ago
  Interesting actually to see fractionation on that list... At least with distillation and like process it feels it should be solidly in processed food category.

by GuB-42 5y ago

chrisseaton 5y ago

> normally starts with whole ingredients rather than extracts But the extracts come from whole ingredients, so if you think about where the extracts came from then the whole process is again using whole ingredients.

xg15 5y ago
Yes, and technically, fries are vegetables.
- xboxnolifes 5y ago
  Fries aren't unhealthy because they are cut. They are unhealthy because they are completely covered in oil.

karaterobot 5y ago

It's a legitimate point to raise, as page 3 of that report points out: > Food processing in itself is not the issue. One obvious reason is that nowadays, practically all food is processed in some sense and in some way. The term ‘processing’ (like the term ‘industry’) is very general and therefore not helpful, and so judgements of foods simply because they are ‘processed’ are not meaningful.

fnord77 5y ago

"Minimally processed foods are natural foods altered by methods that include removal of inedible or unwanted parts, and also processes that include drying, crushing, grinding, powdering, fractioning, filtering, roasting, boiling, non-alcoholic fermentation, pasteurization, chilling, freezing, placing in containers, and vacuum packaging. The distinction between unprocessed and minimally processed foods is not especially significant. "

Ekaros 5y ago
Interesting actually to see fractionation on that list... At least with distillation and like process it feels it should be solidly in processed food category.