Are processed foods less nutritious than fresh foods?

[Randy]

Eat fruits and vegitables raw, just wash 'em off and chow down. No nutrient loss

Meats are an entirely different animal though

 

[MIREGMGR]

If you want food engineering advice, I don't have the appropriate expertise.

I can recommend, though, this technical-for-non-professionals book on food chemistry and the historical development of cooking and processing:

On Food And Cooking, Harold McGee, ISBN 0-02-034621-2

Its focus is on home cookery, but if your goal is to have your industrial products better simulate home prepared foods in terms of gustatory appeal and nutrition, my guess is that it might be useful.

 

[CertifiedDataJunkie]

People are always interested in more nutritious food but they cannot always cook that's why there are companies that produce foods on their behalf. Through HACCP or any other food safety programs I want to know how processed foods can retain more nutrients than fresh foods.

While the thread may pose an interesting question, there seems to be some confusion. HACCP is a risk management/control technique and may not be an appropriate tool for improving the nutrition of processed food.

If a food process removes some nutrients present in the fresh or raw food, then the process needs to be changed or redesigned to eliminate this "defect." For example, when boiling or steaming a vegetable such as corn as a means of obtaining cooked corn, the cooking process transfers some of the nutrients present in the food to the water and when the food is drained, these nutrients are "lost" and cannot benefit the consumer.

The results of this cooking technique will likely be the same regardless of whether performed at home or in a food processing facility. An alternative is to buy frozen corn which is still processed, but not in a way that removes as much of the nutrients present in the raw corn.

Also, some processed foods may be considered more nutritious than the raw food as they are enriched during the process of preparing them for market. For example, the addition of Vitamin D to milk or adding vitamins to cereal during processing.

The bottom line is that food must be processed in some way if the food is going to be edible by the time it reaches the table. Curing meat through salting, smoking, or dehydrating is an old-fashioned way of food preservation, but while lengthening its shelf life, the usual increase in salt content that comes along with the processing is a tradeoff that must be made for not being able to obtain a "fresh" meat product. It certainly seems more appetizing than worrying about food that has become unsafe through spoilage or other "natural" fermentation processes that come with inadequate refrigeration as the food is transmitted from farm to table.

 

[Stijloor]

Eat fruits and vegetables raw, just wash 'em off and chow down. No nutrient loss

Meats are an entirely different animal though

Meat can be stored and prepared without chemicals..
So, no loss of nutrients.

Stijloor.

 

[dbulak]

I would highly recommend that people read some of the writings and books by Adelle Davis. Years ago, I read one of her books in which she pointed out the the chemicals used to preserve food also preserve the fat in our bodies. It's like eating food contaminated with mercury. Mercury stays in our bones and is not washed out of our systems. Like Randy pointed out, eating fresh is best.

 

[Stijloor]

I would highly recommend that people read some of the writings and books by Adelle Davis. Years ago, I read one of her books in which she pointed out the the chemicals used to preserve food also preserve the fat in our bodies. It's like eating food contaminated with mercury. Mercury stays in our bones and is not washed out of our systems. Like Randy pointed out, eating fresh is best.

Thank you for reminding us of her work!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelle_Davis

Stijloor.

 

[Ka Pilo]

Just like ISO 9001 which is about a Quality Management System (QMS), ISO 22000 is about a food safety management system (FSMS). Product quality aspects such as nutritional value, taste, etc are outside the scope of the standard. Proprietary and confidential methods and processes are often involved in this area.

The manner in which foods are processed is part of the GMP/GHP/HACCP. In my opinion improving nutritional and organoleptic quality is part of the food safety discipline.

 

[gpainter]

Fresh and local is better anyway you slice it!!

 

[gpainter]

On the meat side, we have about 3 local "chemical free" meat suppliers. They take a little longer to mature for the market but there are benefits from reduced residues from all the additives.

 

[SteelMaiden]

Actually, if you are not raising all those fruits and vegetables yourself, picking them and serving them right away, they begin losing nutrients as soon as harvested, some lose nutrients faster than others.

Freezing (fresh freezing, not cooking and freezing) is a good way to retain nutrients and can be done without the addition of lots of sodium (or other things.

But as stated, processed foods cover a lot of territory, so what type of processing are we discussing.

My choices for selecting food:
Fresh
Fresh Frozen
Canned with no/low sodium

After that it is a toss up. (but bacon is still my favorite food, and it breaks all the rules)