Food processing is the transformation of cooked ingredients, by physical or chemical means into food, or of food into other forms.Food processing combines raw food ingredients to produce marketable food products that can be easily prepared and served by the consumer.
Food processing involves the conversion of raw materials and ingredients into an acceptable food product for the consumer. It encompasses every aspect necessary to transport raw materials from the harvest site through packaging & merchandising. It involves the application of scientific principles to slow down or stop the natural process of food decay caused by microorganisms, enzymes in food or environmental factors such as heat, moisture and sunlight and thus preserving the food.
The term processing is very broad and encompassing many techniques. These include primary processing like threshing, dehusking, polishing and grinding in case of food grains and preliminary operations such as cleaning, washing, sorting, grading, peeling, blanching and cutting to produce secondary processed products like bread, biscuits, pickles, frozen meals etc.