Eating processed foods

Processed foods aren't just microwave meals and other ready meals. The term 'processed food' applies to any food that has been altered from its natural state in some way, either for safety reasons or convenience. This means you may be eating more processed food than you realise.

Processed foods aren't necessarily unhealthy, but anything that’s been processed may contain added salt, sugar and fat.

One advantage of cooking food from scratch at home is that you know exactly what is going into it, including the amount of added salt or sugar.

However, even homemade food sometimes uses processed ingredients. Read on to find out how you can eat processed foods as part of a healthy diet.

What counts as processed food?

Most shop-bought foods will have been processed in some way.

Examples of common processed foods include:

• breakfast cereals
• cheese
• tinned vegetables
• bread
• savoury snacks, such as crisps 
• meat products, such as bacon
• "convenience foods", such as microwave meals or ready meals
• drinks, such as milk or soft drinks

Food processing techniques include freezing, canning, baking, drying and pasteurising products. 

Dietitian Sian Porter says: "Not all processed food is a bad choice. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria. Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil.

"Freezing fruit and veg preserves most vitamins, while tinned produce (choose those without added sugar and salt) can mean convenient storage, cooking and choice to eat all year round, with less waste and cost than fresh."

What makes some processed foods less healthy?

Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are sometimes added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to prolong their shelf life, or in some cases to contribute to the food's structure, such as salt in bread or sugar in cakes.