Robert Shewfelt, professor emeritus of food and science technology, was quoted in KPCnews about processed foods and their reputation.
Most people, Shewfelt said, think of processed foods as Twinkies or Doritos, but the term covers a much wider spectrum. According to a 2016 article by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, any food that has been “purposely changed in some way prior to consumption” is a processed food. This includes frozen dinners, potato chips, bagged spinach, frozen fruit and canned vegetables. Shewfelt spent his career working with consumer perceptions and fresh fruits and vegetables and wrote a book titled In Defense of Processed Food: It’s Not Nearly as Bad as You Think.
“Be careful when you see the term processed foods that you try and understand it,” he said. “Not all processed foods are junk, and not all junk foods are processed.”
