Food Processing: An overview on links between safety, security, supply chains, and NOVA classification

• Published in: Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy 2023-08, Vol.5, p.100047, Article 100047
• Main Authors: Amorim, Alessandra, Silva, Vivian Lara, Sobral, Paulo José do Amaral
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Food additive; Food system; Homemade food; Industrialized food; Processed food; Short chain
• ISSN: 2772-8013; 2772-8013
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clcb.2023.100047

•Independently if at home, industry, restaurant or food service, all human food is processed.•By guarantee safety and security, food processing and FSC are strategic tools to save lives and increase the quality of life, besides to supply and nourish people no matter their geographical or agricultural conditions.•The NOVA classification is mistakenly used in some Dietary Guidelines and, besides not necessarily help in the role of food safety and security, is wrongly educating people.•Dialogue and more union among the food fields are necessary. The human diet changed continuously throughout the history of the humankind. Nevertheless, in the last 200 years the world experienced more important changes in diet and lifestyle. In an urbanized and industrialized world, people now spend more time out and, as a consequence, eating has begun to demand practicality. Nowadays, food can be accessed in food services, restaurants and supermarkets; it is no more cooked only at home by mothers or grandmothers, as in the past. With scientific and technological advancements, a huge diversity of food can be consumed days or months after being processed, but this expressive change in a relatively short amount of time has created a space of distrust in functions that stems from a lack of knowledge about the origin and history of food. Food is a complex field that involves emotions. People – including scholars – did not have enough time to assimilate the complex issues involving food, so its implications on health and moral values were neglected. Moreover, in times of high speed and overload of information, boosted by the absence of food system transparency, it is possible to find mistakes in food concepts even in the academic arena. This article aims, therefore, to reflect on the improvement provided by the food industry and FSTE knowledge on food safety and security, and demystifying some beliefs that involve food processing, additives, quality and sustainability, as well as asking for more dialogue, interaction and synergy among different food knowledge bases.