Food Processing and Effects on Bioactive Constituents: An Opinion Piece

Abstract

Food processing is an essential unit operation required for production of most food, both industrially and domestically. While, palatability and wholesomeness of food are most important, over processing and inclusion of excessive amount f salt, sugar and solid fat with high content of trans isomers must be avoided.  Furthermore, while preservatives and additives are essential for safety of products and shelf-life extension, when and where possible natural products with established safety records should be used.  The so-called, ultra-processed food (UPF) that may refer to products that do not follow these criteria are often associated with a myriad of diseases, but again here, caution must be exercised to avoid misuse of terminologies that may create misconception.