Natural Sciences and Technology Grade 6-A - Thunderbolt Kids

NEW WORDS
• shelf-life
DID YOU KNOW?
The Xhosa people
leave milk to curdle in
a hide sack or
calabash to form a
favourite semi-solid
sour yoghurt drink.
4.2 How are foods processed?
There are dierent levels of food processing. The key question is to
ask: has any process occurred from when this plant or animal was
in its natural habitat to where it is now? If you can say yes then you
know that it has been processed in some way or another.
Levels of food processing
Minimally processed foods:
• Fruit and vegetables, nuts, meat and milk undergo very little
processing from when the plant or animal product was in its
natural habitat to the point where it lands on your table.
• They need to harvested, washed and sometimes peeled,
chopped, juiced or cut to remove inedible parts, before they
are sold. These have a very short shelf-life.
Milk and juice are minimally
processed.
Processed food ingredients:
Vegetables are washed, cut and
cooked. This is minimal processing.
• Products with alonger shelf-life, like flours, oils, fats, sugars,
syrups, margarine, sweeteners and starches, fall into this
category.
• The original product has been changed and the ingredient
does not look like the original kernel or grain, or oil seed or
beans.
• These processing techniques often break down any nutrient
values and the manufacturers often add in extra nutrients,
vitamins and minerals to their foods.
64 Life and Living