What is Food Processing & How Can It Benefit Businesses?

Running a bar, an eatery, or a cafe? If you distribute food to clients, you might stock a wide range of foods. From crackers and chips to snack-sized bars, there are so many tasty morsels your customers may be looking forward to. Many of these are processed foods that are beneficial to businesses in many ways.

But what is food processing, and how else does it benefit your business? In this guide, we will explore everything you need to know about food processing, examine some processed foods, and explain why it is ideal for establishments like yours.

What is Food Processing? 4 Common Processes

Food processing includes all the mechanical or chemical operations carried out on food to transform or preserve it. It can involve using equipment or energy to change grains or vegetables, meats or milk, fruits or other ingredients into edible, long-lasting food.

The specific steps and processes included in food differ depending on the type of food being processed. They may include adding food additives or involve the following food processing techniques:

Homogenization

This involves reducing the particle size that food products contain, including emulsions. In this process, fat particles may be dispersed before being frozen, and this increases the stability of the food product, giving it a longer shelf life.

Pasteurization

This involves a heat treatment process that makes spoilage micro-organisms inactive. The heat treatment is commonly included to preserve juices and milk, and the end result is typically longer-lasting food that can be stored for longer.

Drying

The drying process involves reducing the amount of water that a food product contains. The result is lower microbial growth since these elements cannot thrive where there is less water present. It can include hot air or freeze-drying and is typically done to dried fruits or vegetables.

Smoking

The smoking process was traditionally used to prolong the shelf life of meat and fish. Nowadays, it can be ideal for infusing enticing aromas and flavors into meats, such as chorizo sausages, or fish, such as salmon slices.

Appliances Your Eatery Can Use to Store or Cook Processed Food

After the food production or industrial food processing actions, processed food needs to be stored and cooked the right way. You might have been wondering where to put processed food or how to prepare it. Here are a couple of options your eatery’s employees might want to use:

Refrigerator

Refrigerators are the ideal option for processed foods like milk or mayonnaise. They keep perishable foods in the right state until it’s time to use them or serve them to guests. Options such as the Avanti 4.4 Auto-Defrost Refrigerator have full-range temperature control, making it easier to keep cold food items fresher for longer.

Chiller

Chillers can work well for frozen meals such as frozen vegetables and ice cream, keeping these processed foods in a frozen state. Options such as the Avanti 4.4 CF Refrigerator contain a chiller section. This particular model’s chiller has a large capacity to help you store large quantities of food.

Toaster

Serving toasted snacks to customers as a catering business? Preparing processed sliced bread couldn’t get easier than with a toaster. The Sunbeam Extra Wide Slot toaster can hold four slices of bread, bagels, muffins, and various other types of bread. If your high-traffic eatery serves breakfast to customers, a toaster like this makes food service faster and more efficient.

Benefits of Processed Food

Your business can stand to gain several benefits when including processed food in its offering. From reducing food waste and enhancing food safety, to storing long-lasting food types and minimizing food spoilage, here's more information on the benefits of processed food.

Reducing Food Waste and Extending Shelf Life

As stated by the EPA freezing, dehydrating, and pickling food, or ensuring the food undergoes modern food processing processes can reduce food waste. It means you will not need to throw away large quantities of expired food and can keep them in storage conditions in their processed state for longer.

Enhancing Food Safety

Many processed foods may originally contain raw ingredients that are either inedible or contain harmful bacteria. One example is raw milk, which can lead to foodborne illnesses in humans. With food processing, these harmful bacteria can be removed, and this can enhance food safety for consumers.

3 Examples of Processed Food

There are various examples of processed food that give consumers energy and taste delicious. Some examples include cereal and cereal bars, candy and biscuits. Here’s an overview of a few types of popular processed foods in the food industry.

Breakfast Bars

Breakfast bars are packed with minerals and work well as a snack to be enjoyed when on the go. These sweet energizing treats include Kellogg's Nutri Grain Bars and Froot Loops Breakfast Cereal , which are conveniently sized cereals ideal for breakfast time. You may consider stocking these types of processed food in your breakroom so employees can enjoy them when they arrive.

Crackers and Chips

Crackers and potato chips can be a tasty treat that you might serve in your bar as an additional snack. These light and crispy delights include the world-famous Pringle Potato Chips and the lightly spiced Sunshine Cheez-It Crackers , each with processed raw materials. Nevertheless, they're snacks that your customers can tuck into with their drinks. 

Candy and Chocolate

Candy and chocolate are energizing snacks and types of ultra-processed foods that are ideal when enjoyed in moderation or as part of a healthy and sustainable diet. They’re an item that you might stock up on as a catering business or bar and serve as a snack or a dessert-type treat. Options include M & M’s and Reisen Chocolate Caramel Candies that really tempt the tastebuds. 

Find Processed Food and Food Storage Items at BuyDirect

Whether you’re serving potato chips or want to store breakfast bars in your office, you’ll find the range you need at BuyDirect. We stock well-known brands of processed foods such as Sunshine and Kellogg’s as well as refrigerators, chillers, toasters, and more.

No matter if you’re running a catering business or an eatery and need to stock up, we have you covered. Find processed food and food storage items at BuyDirect and benefit from top savings as a Mission customer.

FAQs

To find out more about food processing, have a look at the FAQs in the sections below!

What Are the Benefits of Food Processing?

There are a few advantages of this. Not only does the food processing process eliminate micro-organisms, but it also has advantages in terms of food shelf life. The food processing approach therefore minimizes diseases caused by micro-organisms and harmful bacteria and extends the shelf life of the food.

What Are the Three Major Types of Food Processing?

They include primary food processing, secondary processing, and tertiary processing. If a food's raw ingredients require little or no processing, this counts as primary processing. An example of this would be an apple plucked from a tree. But other foods that undergo processing may either be classed as secondary- or tertiary-processed food depending on the extent of the processing done with food processing technologies.

Why Is Food Processing so Important?

This is because many food processing methods can be considered fundamental. The processes can make food edible and enhance food safety during consumption. They can also ensure that seasonal food types are available throughout the year and the shelf life of such foods is extended. This means food waste is reduced because the food can last longer.