Food Classification: Origin and Processing

• Food is any substance, solid, or liquid, natural or transformed, that can be used as nutrients or for pleasure, or as dietetic products
• Digestion: Ingestion leads to digestion, where nutrients are extracted and absorbed

Food Classification

• Food classification varies by country and time period
• There is a need to standardize criteria for a unified classification

Food Classification by Origin

• Vegetable origin: cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and nuts
• Animal origin: dairy, eggs, meats, and fish
• Mineral origin: water and table salt

Food Classification by Technological Intervention

• There is no legal definition for ultra-processed foods
• EU Regulation 852/2004 defines transformed products, non-transformed products, and transformation
• Fresh/unprocessed foods have not been transformed, includes products that have been divided, sliced, chopped, peeled, etc.
• Processed foods involve science and technology to transform characteristics or extend shelf life, aims to preserve or enhance nutrition, provide variety, and reduce waste

Food Processing

• Minimally processed foods are treated for hygiene and safety with a composition similar to the original
• Ultra-processed foods are formulations of ingredients produced by industrial techniques and additives, includes sugars, salts, oils, and hydrogenated fats
• Ultra-processed foods substitute other foods due to appealing organoleptic characteristics, and differ greatly from initial foods

Systems of Food Classification

• The NOVA system classifies foods into four categories

NOVA Classification System

• Group 1: Unprocessed or minimally processed foods of vegetable or animal origin, not adding or introducing any substance
• Group 2: Culinary ingredients extracted and purified from food components, like vegetable oils, animal fats, sugars, and flours
• Group 3: Processed foods made by adding substances to Group 1 foods, such as canned vegetables in brine, salted nuts, and cheese
• Group 4: Ultra-processed foods formulated from substances derived from foods, like sweets, hamburgers, processed meats, and sugary drinks

NUTRI-SCORE

• Aims to improve food quality and facilitate healthy choices, appearing on processed food packaging, allowing quality comparison and steers choices
• Nutrient quality is determined per 100 mg/ml considering negative (energy, sugars, fats, sodium) and positive points (fruits, vegetables, fiber, proteins)

Milk and Dairy Products

• Natural milk is a complete, unaltered product from healthy, well-fed domestic animals, with cow's milk being the most common
• Milk has carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, and essential chemical elements where balance ensures stability

Milk Composition Factors

• HC refers lactose content
• Proteins are high value, including casein and whey proteins
• Lipids consists of approximately 3.5%, with AGS presence that has a moderate cholesterol content
• Milk contains B2, A, D, and B12 vitamins
• It has calcium and phosphorus, also low in iron

Types of Milk based on Preservation

• Pasteurization involves heating milk at a temp below boiling (70-75°C) to eliminate microorganisms and has storage for 3-4 days at 0-3°C
• Sterilization involves heating milk above boiling (115°C(15 min),140-150°C(1-3 s), good for UHT, to preserves flavor and nutritive content and destroying all microorganisms
• Whole milk retains most nutrients
• Skimmed milk has almost all lipids removed, but retains proteins, lactose, and calcium, it also loses liposoluble vitamins
• Semi-skimmed milk has half of the fat extracted
• Evaporated milk is sterilized and has had part of the water extracted
• Condensed milk is sanitized with sucrose, removing a part of the water
• Milk powder is dehydrated milk

Fermented Milks

• Modified by microbial action or specific lactic ferments to produce milk types
• Yogurts are coagulated milk products obtained by lactic fermentation with lactobacillus, bulgaricus, streptococcus, and thermophilus
• Kefir milk undergoes fermentation including lactic and alcoholic fermentation derived from bacteria and fungi

Cheese

• Cheese refers to a pasty or solid product from coagulating milk with separation of whey, often made from whole or skimmed milk
• Cheese made by milk coagulation using rennet is called "curdled"
• Production of cheese by salting, heating, and pressing to expel water when placed into molds
• It then undergoes aging/cured, where chemical transformations occur by microorganisms and decreases water content and is lactose, lip, and prot

Types of Cheeses

• Fresh cheeses are consumed shortly after elaboration and have a high water content
• Soft/semi-soft cheeses do not undergo alcoholic fermentation
• Cured cheeses are matured for over 3 months, low % water and have a firm consistency
• Processed cheeses are fused at a high temperature into slices or bars

Meat Category

• Meat is the edible part of muscles from sacrificed cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, and camels under hygienic conditions
• Additionally includes meat from farm animals, game animals, and marine mammals
• Edible parts consist of muscle tissue, liver, kidneys, brain, and heart
• Has muscle, adipose, and connective tissue

Meat Tissue

• Muscular includes myoglobin, classifies meats into white and reds, where color doesn't affect nutrition or digestibility and changes can occur if oxidized causing dark grey meat
• Adipose is visible fat, is inter/intrafascicular.
• Connective is variable according to muscle group, increasing with age and exercise
• Connective can toughen meat but moist heat softens it

Meat Classification Factors

• White meats have low myoglobin content, like turkey, chicken, and rabbit
• Red meats have a high myoglobin %, same protein content as lighter colored meats and are classified as beef, steer, and game animals

Carne de Cerdo/Pork

• Pork is categorized as red based on myoglobin content but it is considered white meat due to its nutritional composition, where in 2015 the WHO had less than 2% fat in pork meat
• Meat can be classified based on fat content, species, body part, and diet
• Postmortem intramuscular glycogen is lost

Meat Products

• Processed derivatives are food products prepared totally or partially with authorized meats or animal parts that undergo specifics operations prior to consumption

Methods for preserving meat:

• Salted, smoked, and marinated meats undergo sodium chloride action in brine or solid form, to ensure preservation
• Salting, drying, and smoking operations all create smoked products
• Marinated meats have spices or condiments added to the salt
• Tocinos comprise subcutaneous adipose tissue from healthy pigs, used fresh, salted, seasoned, or industrialized, creating bacon

Meat based products

• Embutidos products are prepared from authorized meats, minced or not, undergone curing processes, with animal parts, and greases
• Embutidos are added with vegetables, condiments, and species, and be introduced in natural or artificial tripe, e.g. chorizo, blood sausage
• Meat and bone broth by technological processes, is from muscles, free of fat, and protein

Dairy Products

• Dairy products by heat extraction in tendons, cartilages, or bones that undergo the addition of condiments, species, cooking salt, and sugar, then diluted in water and cooled into gelatin
• The extraction process creates tripes that contain a digestive system and bladders from cattle, healthy birds and slaughtered species, used to prepare sausages

Fish

• Fish are animals living in water, edible such as sea animals
• Classification consist of blue fish at range of 8-15% MG, a narrow tail in shape, sardines, tuna fish
• Semi-fatty fish has 3-8% of fats which is usually salmon
• White fish contains range between 1-3% which has a round tail in shape

Nutritional Composition for Fish

• No HC and fibre composition
• High protein value while also having A and D vitamins
• Minerals containing iodine, phosphorus, and potassium
• Crustaceans consist of prawns and crabs with a close relation to low-lipids, elevated cholesterol-levels and high in Fe
• Cephalopods are clams, sea urchins, and octopus

Eggs

• In accordance to the CAE the classification depends on hens
• Freshness grades which depends on the product used, classified as either A, B, or C
• Has protein and calcáreo

Internal Parts of a Egg

• 86% forms water with proteins of AVB and amino acids which contains a high amount nutrients
• The yolk is orange and yellow with lipids to form AGS and vitamins

Cereals

• Mature fruits that adopt a form of growth on spike
• Main uses are wheat and rice

Classification on Cereals

• Gliadin proteins found in cereals which creates the baked elastic texture
• Some of the cereals consist of gluten when grinded, examples consist of trigo
• Also consists of gluten free products which consist of arrowroot and corn

Part of Cereals

• Coverings formed by cellulose and rich in vitamins that extracted from milling
• Endosperms that consists of proteic nutrients
• Composition is in amido

Bread

• Mixed and fermented wheat, when cooked, becomes bread

Types of Bread

• Wholegrain is flour obtained from when the grain is completely grinded
• Cereal based products usually enrich fiber
• Alimentary pastas which usually enriched the protein with vegetables
• Composition is simular

Breakfast

• Morning product of wheat and maize usually mixed with hot water, contains minerals and nutrients with the presence of integral and refined particles
• Porridge mixed with grains, fruits and dried fruits

Explore food classification based on origin (vegetable, animal, mineral) and technological intervention (fresh, processed). Understand the differences between fresh, processed, and ultra-processed foods, including EU regulations on food transformation. Learn about criteria's for unified classification.