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Processed Food Challenges

Mythbusters

Processed Food Challenges

How food is preserved, packaged, and prepared – and what “processed” actually means
 
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White Paper: Why Food Processing is Important to Us (APR 2026)

The FIA White Paper emphasises the pivotal role of food processing in creating sustainable food systems, highlighting its multifaceted contributions to food safety, nutritional security, and economic growth. By employing a range of techniques, from traditional preservation methods to modern innovations, food processing ensures the availability of safe, nutritious, and affordable food, while also addressing contemporary challenges such as food waste and micronutrient deficiencies. Ultimately, the paper advocates for science-based policies that recognise the importance of food processing in enhancing health, sustainability, and resilience across global food systems.

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[Infographic] Moving Beyond Misclassification: Food Processing as the Path to Healthier and Sustainable Diets (APR 2026)

The NOVA classification of food processing has been criticised for its inconsistency and oversimplification, lacking a universal definition that accurately reflects the complexity of food and nutrition. There is insufficient evidence to conclusively link ultra-processed foods (UPF) with negative health outcomes, and current policies should rely on robust scientific data rather than assumptions. Effective food processing is essential for improving nutrition, ensuring food safety, and creating sustainable food systems, highlighting the need for a more nuanced approach to food classification.

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[Infographic] Distinguishing Formulation and Processing Using the IUFoST Approach (APR 2026)

The IUFoST has developed a comprehensive Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) Index to clarify the distinction between food formulation and processing, aiming to refine the NOVA classification and facilitate the creation of healthier foods. The NRF calculation uses a scoring system based on nutrient density, assessing both beneficial nutrients to consume and those to limit, ultimately quantifying a food's nutritional quality before and after processing. This framework highlights the necessity of considering both formulation and processing methods, alongside scientific evidence, in evaluating food quality and its health implications.

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𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲-𝗼𝗳𝗳. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹.

In 30 seconds, 𝗗𝗿. 𝗞𝗼𝗵 𝗬𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗴, President of the Malaysian Institute of Food Technology (MIFT) , explains why food processing matters for a healthier and more resilient food system: 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿-𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. This is exactly why 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. When grounded in evidence, food processing supports reformulation, nutrient delivery, and public health objectives at scale. 🎥 Watch the Q&A to learn more.

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Collaboration is Key for Healthier and Sustainable Food Systems - Dr. Kom Kamonpatana PhD

🚫 Myth: “𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮.” ✅ Reality: 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 Dr. Kom Kamonpatana PhD from the Food Science and Technology Association of Thailand (FoSTAT) stresses: 🔸 Food processing is key to food and nutrition security 🔸 Collaboration between industry, scientists, and communities ensures no group is left behind 🔸 Protecting food heritage requires both culture and technology 👉 Dr. Kom explains how collaboration protects both nutrition and food culture

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Collaboration is Key for Healthier and Sustainable Food Systems - Food technologist FT Subhaprada Nishtala

🚫 Myth: “𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘖𝘝𝘈 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦” ✅ Reality: 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 Food technologist FT Subhaprada Nishtala, Vice President of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists India (AFSTI) explains: 🔸 Food scientists and nutritionists are only part of the picture 🔸 Economists, statisticians, and environmental experts must also weigh in 🔸 Ministries and policymakers need to be part of the platform too 👉 FT. Subhaprada shares why food and nutrition decisions require broad collaboration.

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Misconceptions of Processed Food - Dr. Kom Kamonpatana PhD

🚫 Myth: “𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥.” ✅ Reality: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲, 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 Dr. Kom Kamonpatana PhD from the Food Science and Technology Association of Thailand (FoSTAT) explains: 🔸 Toddlers, the elderly, and people with special dietary requirements need safe, processed products to deliver the essential nutrients 🔸 Cultural foods often require advanced processing to be stabilised 🔸 UPF classifications risk excluding these essential foods 👉 Dr. Kom highlights why some groups depend on processed foods for health and culture.

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Misconceptions of Processed Food - Food technologist FT Subhaprada Nishtala

🚫 Myth: “𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.” ✅ Reality: 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 Food technologist FT Subhaprada Nishtala, Vice President of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists India (AFSTI) shares: 🔸 UPF is a misnomer 🔸 Healthfulness of a product is not a direct correlation to the food processing but variety of considerations 🔸 Oversimplifying ignores the complexity of food science 👉 FT Subhaprada explains why UPF is a misnomer when it comes to food healthfulness.

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Misconceptions of Processed Food - Professor Purwiyatno Hariyadi

"🚫 Myth: “𝘜𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘢-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 = 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺.” ✅ Reality: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 “𝗨𝗣𝗙” 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 Professor Purwiyatno Hariyadi from the Department of Food Science and Technology at IPB University (Indonesia) explains: 🔸 Classifying foods isn’t only based on processing levels – nutrients and formulation count as well 🔸 Equating processing = unhealthy misleads policymakers and consumers 👉 Prof. Purwiyatno shares why the UPF concept risks demonising food processing."

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The Role and Importance of Food Processing - Dr. Kom Kamonpatana PhD

"🚫 Myth: “𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.” ✅ Reality: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 Dr. Kom Kamonpatana PhD from the Food Science and Technology Association of Thailand (FoSTAT) highlights: 🔸 Processing keeps food affordable and accessible across the region 🔸 It stabilises fortified foods to address micronutrient deficiencies 🔸 Food processing and technology is vital to ensure everyone benefits from safer, nutritious food 👉 Dr. Kom explains why processing is central to both food and nutrition security."

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The Role and Importance of Food Processing - Professor Purwiyatno Hariyadi

🚫 Myth: “𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺.” ✅ Reality: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 Professor Purwiyatno Hariyadi from the Department of Food Science and Technology at IPB University (Indonesia) explains that: 🔸 Processing increases food production and availability 🔸 It makes food more widely available for the population 🔸 Without it, tackling food security challenges would be near impossible 👉 Hear directly from Prof. Purwiyatno Hariyadi on why food processing is essential for food security.

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Processed Food: Friend or Foe? Unpacking the Myths and Facts

Food processing is crucial in ensuring global access to safe, nutritious, and sustainable food. Despite misconceptions, it has been an essential tool for improving dietary quality and availability for centuries. We speak to industry experts Guglielmo Bonara (R&D Manager Asia, Nestle), Kavita Karnik (Global Head of Nutrition, Tate & Lyle) and Apiporn Adulpichit (Head of Nutrition SE Asia, R&D, Unilever) about this key issue and the opportunities and challenges ahead.

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Are all processed foods bad for you?

In this follow-up segment of FIA's Mythbusters: Processed Foods, Professor Jeya Henry returns to debunk new myths about processed foods and ingredients. Professor Henry illustrates that lengthy ingredient lists don’t imply unhealthiness: pineapples for example comprise of dozens of compounds. He also underscores how processed foods are a key source of affordable nutrition worldwide, particularly in under-resourced communities. At Food Industry Asia, we remain committed to providing evidence-based insights that empower informed food choices.

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Mythbusters: Processed Foods - A Food Scientist's View

Processed foods are an integral part of global diets, serving diverse needs - from nutrition in early life to promoting health and offering moments of indulgence. Yet, misconceptions persist about the safety and nutritional value of processed foods. In the latest edition of our digital series, Mythbusters: Processed Foods, we hear from Professor Jeya Henry, a leading international food scientist, as he gives his opinions on the debate about processed foods. Key Takeaways: 🔸Processing can enhance food safety, such as the pasteurisation of milk, which eliminates harmful bacteria. 🔸The nutritional quality of food should be the focus. Food processing can in fact make food healthier. 🔸Innovative food processing technologies are helping to create foods that are both nutritious and safe for consumers. At Food Industry Asia, we are dedicated to providing evidence-based insights that challenge misconceptions and support informed decisions about the role of processed foods in today’s world.

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Mythbusters: Processed Food

Processed foods play a critical role in the diets of billions of people around the world. The definition is broad and ranges from infant nutrition to immune-boosting foods to joyful moments with sweet treats. However, many misconceptions and myths target the processed food industry. Food Industry Asia has launched its first digital story, "Mythbusters: Processed Foods," which provides a critical examination of the prevailing myths versus the realities backed by scientific research. Key Insights: 🔸The juxtaposition of consumer perceptions with the actual nutritional profile of certain processed foods. 🔸Analysis of how food processing technologies are employed to maintain, and in some cases improve, nutritional content. 🔸Examples of innovative processing techniques that promise both convenience and health benefits. FIA is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of the processed food sector.