The debate between whether fresh food is better or packaged food is better is not new, even the professionals working in the elite kitchens of the country also hold different opinion for the same. In a very busy restaurant if an orders comes for French fries then no chef will want to cut out potato frits and fry them, rather they will open a frozen potato pack put it in deep fryer and carry on with the other work, chef doesn’t have to worry about the seasoning, nor the texture.
There is no doubt that the packaged food is being served in restaurants and they do end up saving valuable time , helps in multi-tasking and do cut down on labour cost but are they really safe, Common sense leads us to believe that anything with the word “fresh” in it must be better for us than anything “packaged”.
Processed or Packaged food
Processed foods have been altered from their naturalstate for safety reasons and for convenience.Processing methods include canning, freezing,refrigeration, dehydration and aseptic processing.
Packaged food comes in different ways for example:
Canned fruit
Canned fruits like peaches , pine apples etc and vegetables like asparagus, palm shoots etc. In fact, if you can’t go with fresh veggies some canned ones may be the next best thing. Most are packaged within a day or two so most of the nutrients stay in but there are some drawbacks. Research shows that some vitamin B and essential nutrients are lost in the process and typically these products have a much higher sodium level than fresh veggies.
Processed Food
When foods are processed much of their nutritional value is lost and replaced with manmade and unhealthy fillers that add taste but through empty calories, sugar and carbohydrates. Some of the most harmful ingredients in processed foods include, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, salt and artificial colors and sweeteners.
Food safety concerns while using packaged food:
These food stuffs are not safe for human health because of the following reasons:
1. Extra trans and saturated fats.
2. Extra sodium and sugar.
3. Often nutrients are removed to make the food last longer or look better.
4. Higher ratio of calories to other essential nutrients.
5. Ingredients in processed foods are often of low quality, but disguised by use of the processing.
6. Food additives have little nutritional value.
Health risk associated with eating these products:
1.. Kidney and stomach cancer
2.. Excess sugar and salt intake can lead to high blood pressure
3. Weight gain and diabetes.
4. Plastic used forpackaging food may also cause adverse health effects. It's long been known that infinitesimal bits of plastic get into our food from containers. The process is called "leaching" or "migration." Heating food in plastic seems to increase the amount that's transferred to food. Migration also increases when plastic touches fatty, salty, or acidic food.
Although bisphenol A came to fame on the nightly news as a potential poison in our water bottles, our main exposure to this comes from the linings of canned foods.The BPA we ingest gets into our bloodstream. Regular monitoring by the CDC shows that more than 90% of us have detectable levels of bisphenol A in our bodies.Among all the other plastic substances that get into our food, BPA stands out, for its ability to disrupt the functions of hormones -- especially estrogen.One large, well-conducted study in humans showed that people who had high levels of BPA in the urine had a higher rate of diabetes, heart disease, and liver toxicity.
Freshly produced food
These are those food stuffs that have been produced in farm and harvested and are used seasonally in kitchen. Although these food stuffs are considered healthy as compared to packaged food stuffs , but the use of chemicals and urea have raised safety concerns. There are variety of forms by which freshly produced food stuffs are used in restaurants :
Raw Food Diet
While some may call it extreme, others simply call it the best choice and the raw food diet has been credited with lowering blood pressure, obesity and even the chance of developing diabetes.
Organic
Restaurants are also putting emphasis on organic products which are free of harsh chemicals and additives and are grown in rich, natural soil. Aside from the health benefits, the advantages to the environment are plentiful.
Nutritional Benefits
Fresh fruits and vegetables provide fibre, vitamins, and minerals that your body needs for normal functioning. Notable nutrients include vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium, and fruit and vegetables are the primary sources for them. Individuals eating diets higher in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of chronic disease. In addition, diets rich in fibremay reduce the risk of coronary heart disease also.
Effect of cooking method on nutrient content of Canned and Fresh Produce
The cooking method employed to prepare the produce greatly affects the nutritional value of canned and fresh produce. Canned produce has already been subjected to high cooking temperatures and it is possible for the nutrient levels to be reduced compared to the fresh versions. Cooking the vegetables more may destroy the remaining nutrients. In addition, canned vegetables are often softer in texture and could seem bland, but seasoning with more salt or fat serves to greatly affect the nutritional value of the overall meal. Light, quick cooking, like steaming and stir-frying are preferred cooking methods, because they preserve the vitamins and minerals of the food and result in brightly-colored, crisper vegetables than boiling or stewing food.
In restaurants where only fresh produce is used and no canned products are used does not guarantees safe food. Restaurants and the chefs have to adhere to priniples of food safety like HACCP to ensure safety aspects. for example a restaurant serving fresh meat items rather than the packaged meat has to ensure that the meat is first heated to 60 degree Celsius and then cooled down to the 5 degree Celsius if it is stored for later use , this will not allow the bacteria to contaminate the food , but while using frozen food , they are already packaged and kept at a temperature of -17 degrees so the chances of the having food contaminating bacteria is less.
More over food safety principles like clean , separate , cook and chill should be maintained.
Clean:Hands and surfaces should be cleaned and sanitised
Separate:There should be separate storage space for raw and processed food and there should be different chopping boards for raw meat, poultry, and seafood and a separate one for other food.
Cook:Cooking should be done to safe temperatures.
Chill:Refrigerate promptly. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food, and leftovers within 2 hours.
By following food safety principles having safe food is easily achievable, so getting canned food or fresh food for operations in restaurant is passable, depending on the size of operations and the tye of service a restaurant can opt for any of them. Still keeping in mind the health assumptions related to canned food or packaged food old fashioned idea of farm to fork still rules the palate.
