Food processing levels and processed food intake classification

Abstract

A causal relationship between food processing and adverse health outcomes is often incorrectly reported. This is evidenced by several processed food classifications which mistakenly claim to categorize foods based on their processing level. Here we used chemical engineering principles to divide food processing to unit operations (physical processing) and unit processes (chemical processing) and established 5 food processing levels (FPL). Unit operations represent the lowest processing levels, FPL 0 and 1. Unit processes may include minor or major (bio)chemical changes resulting in FPL 2 and 3, respectively. FPL 4 is assigned to processing of food formulations with one or more ingredients from FPL 3 and 4. Foods from the different FPL are categorized with guidelines to corresponding processed food intake (PFI) classes, which provides improvements in comparison to the NOVA and other processed food classifications. The PFI classification combines processing and formulation as factors with possible but separate impact on nutritional, health and other outcomes of food intake. The concept of the FPL and PFI classification may be further expanded to indicate the impact of food processing in other applications, such as affordability and sustainability of food products.