Characteristics of Convenience Food - Essay Example

Convenience Food Food can be considered the foremost need of all people. It sustains and nourishes not only humans but every living creature. Different types of food provide varying effects on the body and a complete meal which contains modest amount of important nutrients such as vitamins, proteins and fibers, is said to be ideal in maintaining a healthy body. Through the years, science and practical experience have identified such food groups leading to recommendations by school and government institutions for a healthier society. At the same time food without value or containing components detrimental to health are being highlighted as people become more conscious of what they eat. Included in such avoided groups are junk and convenient foods. The latter are the main focus of this paper which aims to provide a broad analysis of convenient food. These include nature and characteristics of convenient food, its effect on the consuming public and socio-economical cause and impact. With the rapid changes in the economy and technology especially amongst industrialized nations come dramatic transformations in the many facets of human and social conditions. As per capita income in such countries climb, so are the choices in kinds of subsistence and modes of communication that constitute the very lifestyle of people today. Time has been a very expensive resource for working people especially in suburbs and cities. Logically, eating which is one of the daily functions in life has ceased to be a leisurely and solemn experience as in the past or in rural areas. Instead, some consider it as one necessary routine which needs to be fulfilled with as little time and effort as possible. This urgency and the fast-paced world of consumerism, has spawned the aptly called convenience food. Convenience food is defined as food products that have undergone preparation steps during processing which consequently decreases the preparation time for consumers; thus the name “convenience.” This category includes canned food products, ready-mixed or instant food, frozen meals and “fast” food. In order to make convenience food, several preparation steps are undertaken. This invariably involves addition of preservatives or additives. Additives perform different functions. These include coloring agents for improving the aesthetic appeal of food, flavoring for enhancing taste, emulsifiers and stabilizers for manipulating texture and consistency. Preservatives are added solely for the purpose of preventing and delaying spoilage of food products (SNAC, 2005). The processes of making convenience food are variable due to the different types of raw materials and end products involved. Two major types of food preparation will be enumerated in this paper to serve as representatives to the multifarious activities in this industry; these are food preservation and canning. Food preservation is simply subjecting food raw material to heat or cold and preservatives in order to retain the flavor and value of food. Some methods involve the use of beneficial organisms such as yeast to enhance the quality. The main objective is to remove unneeded components of the food, prevent entry and growth of microorganisms that may cause spoilage and improve the flavor. Examples of preservation processes are heating to kill any live microorganisms, dehydration which removes water, and freezing which disables most bacteria by low temperature (NCHFP). Canning is another food preservation technique wherein the objective is to make an airtight container of food products using jar or can. The first step is heating the raw materials together with seasoning and the container. This step destroys microorganisms and enzymes thus sterilizing the food. The cooling step forms a vacuum seal which serves as a strong barrier against organisms which may cause spoilage. This requires high temperature so pressure cooker and similar implements are used. Another method for canning is pickling which utilizes acidic components instead of heat to destroy microorganisms and enzymes. Jams and jellies, on the other hand, use high sugar content to act as preserving agents by making it difficult for microorganisms to grow (Clemson Extension 1999). Preservatives and additives are the main drawbacks that are being pinned to canned, ready-mixed and frozen food. Also, effects of using tin and plastic for packages are being evaluated. Furthermore, high sodium content has also been noted as a very serious trait of processed foods that should be avoided especially by those suffering from hypertension and kidney problems aside from a host of health conditions that it causes. The UW Health Online Health Fact lists the food products containing high levels of sodium. These include cured or smoked meat and fish such as bacon, ham, pepperoni, sausage, salami, beef jerky and the likes. Other convenience and fast food include frozen, oriental, deli meals and soups. In these food products sodium is in the form of baking soda, baking powder, table salt, monosodium glutamate and sodium propionate. Sodium is known to elevate blood pressure which in turn causes heart complications and may also cause stroke. Therefore, the public is advised to avoid salty products related to the above list dominated by convenience food. Chemicals and compounds that make up additives and preservatives are naturally under scrutiny when assessing the questionable effects of convenience food on health. Controversy arises when the presence and amount of known additives are discussed. The argument stems from the perceived negative effects, if any, of such additives and the level of such additives to cause noticeable effects. One of the most dreaded diseases is cancer and many additives are being linked to this disease although there is still great need for further research to definitely attribute such side effect to additives. Examples of such components that are believed to be carcinogenic are saccharin, sodium nitrate and acesulfame K (SNAC, 2005). These abovementioned concerns mainly involve packaged or preserved food which is a category under convenience food. A large portion of convenience food is fast food which is known for low nutrition value. This is due to high fat content of fast food among other concerns such as high sugar, sodium and preservative contents. Consequently, chronic health problems such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure become associated with fast food-rich lifestyles. Fast foods are products produced by restaurants offering instant hamburgers, spaghettis, French fries, and many other similar items in speedy approach. These are known to be extensively processed and prepared in manner highly similar to mechanized sectors although served hot and complete sets through standardized cooking and preparation methods. Normally, every component of fast food meals are already prepared and are heated or quickly cooked before serving which saves both time and resources for restaurant owners. Fast food meal sets vary by region. Fast foods have long been faced with criticisms due to high content for most or any of the following: calories, sugar, total, saturated and trans fat, carbohydrates and sodium. According to Gosline (2006), the high amount of trans fat in fast food is very detrimental to people even when consumed in small amounts. Monkeys that were fed with food rich in trans-fat commonly found in fast food grew larger bellies compared to those fed with fat from other sources results of the said study showed. Such amount and type of fat are known to be highly correlated with developing diabetes and heart disease. Diabetes is a very complex and hard to manage type of disease which is gaining wide effect in many populations around the world. Diabetes mellitus is a condition wherein glucose amounts are abnormally high since the body cannot utilize it appropriately. Glucose comes from eating food rich in starch, from sugar and from liver which synthesizes glucose. There are two types of diabetes; type 1 where the body cannot produce insulin and type 2 where the body cannot produce enough or functional insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is synthesized by pancreas which aids in the entry of glucose into cells where it will be transformed into energy. According to recent studies there is a link between consuming fast food with diabetes. Eating fast food more than twice a week was shown to be highly correlated with developing weight gain and insulin resistance which translates to diabetes. Fast food is considered by a medical study in Lancet as “junk food.” In addition, the study noted that people who prefer eating in fast food chains are more prone to having unhealthy lifestyles thus the higher risk of developing diabetes. Obesity, also referred to as overweight, is an abnormal condition of excessive body fat accumulation which causes health risks to the obese person. In order for a person to be considered obese, he or she has to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. A person with a BMI of 25 and higher can be considered overweight. Obesity is linked to other chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In the United States, obesity has been considered as an epidemic and fingers are pointing to fast food as one of the major culprits. The World Health Organization (WHO), American Obesity Association (AOA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have all confirmed the role of fast food on the threatening epidemic that is obesity. According to their report, obesity in the United States has increased by more than 60% since 1980. Studies indicate that children who ate fast food consumed higher levels of saturated fat, carbohydrates and sugar. Due to this, important nutrients from milk, fruit, vegetables and other sources of dietary fibers are left out. Such conditions result to accumulation of fat which is aggravated by lack of exercise. Moreover, obesity progresses into complicated health conditions since it is also associated with infertility, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, kidney problems and cancer among others. It was reported that in the US alone, 300,000 deaths are attributed to obesity each year. Cardiovascular disease or CVD is a complex of heart problems which include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension and heart failure to name a few. Causes of cardiovascular diseases mentioned include smoking, lack of physical activity or exercise and unhealthy diet. Heart attacks and strokes are the most common lethal manifestations of cardiovascular diseases. These two conditions arise from blockage of blood flow towards the heart or the brain. These result from the accumulation and build up of fatty deposits on the blood vessel inner walls supplying blood to the heart and brain. Because of fat buildup, vessels become narrower and hard which lead to blockage during blood clots. Consequently, these vital organs fail when blood cannot pass through these vessels. As fast food has been related to obesity and diabetes which are in turn highly associated with heart diseases it is easy to attribute higher risks of heart disease with eating fast food. Nonetheless, researchers have provided evidence that the fat that can be found in fast food are the worst group of fat consumed by humans. This is because trans fats which have high levels in fast food clog blood vessels and cause heart attacks and strokes. Studies indicate that people consuming 5 grams of fast food daily increases their risk of heart attack by 25%. Trans fat has been tagged as killer fat due to abovementioned characteristics and has been found to have high levels on fast food burgers, French fries and fried chicken to name a few. But who eats fast food? Since fast food originated in industrialized countries, it is therefore logical to assume that prevalence of fast food consumption would largely be found in first world countries. Unsurprisingly, this is true according to Hofmann (2006) who provided data on the per capita consumption for countries around the world. The United States, Canada and United Kingdom make up the top three consumers of fast food, in order. Australia and Japan follow to make up the top five. South Korea and Austria are number sixth and seventh, respectively and Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland complete the top ten (Hofmann, 2006). The next question is who in these industrialized countries consume fast food more. According to Tinklin et al (1972), age, sex, education, income and location play varying roles in the decision for patronizing convenience food. For example, younger males eat fast food more, so does college graduates compared to non-graduates, lower and higher income groups and those located near convenience food stores (Tinklin et al, 1972). Knowing the above demographics, the next objective is to determine the reasons why these people prefer convenience food. Four categories of convenient foods were examined for level of consumption and perceived factors connected to them such as convenience or lifestyle in Irish consumer groups. The aim was to identify which reasons or factors influence consumers of their habit and choices regarding convenience food. Results indicate varying reactions depending on the type and location of studied convenience food categories. According to the group, restaurant and pub meals category are not chosen largely based on convenience but on social events. And that convenience plays a role more in the purchase of ready-meals. The impact of convenience food on the socio-economic sector of societies is also an area or equal importance as the health issues associated with it. Food and nutrition security defines the needs and standards for a family to have ideal nutrition status. Instability or lack of nutritional resources leads to dependence on convenience foods or malnutrition so there is a need to pinpoint areas to improve to prevent malnutrition. The issue is that even if areas of concern such as production, stability of supply and demand are all improved, convenience food can somehow find its place in a society. Therefore, the role of women and agricultural systems can be seen to have pivotal roles in improving food security and malnutrition (Bouis & Hunt, 1999). In summary, the issue of convenience food is now more complicated than just around ease of preparation where it originated. Today, various factors dictate the prominence of this type of food together with the negative health and nutrition implications it brings. Reference List Bouis, H. and J. Hunt. 1999. Linking Food and Nutrition Security: Past lessons and Future opportunities. Asian Development Review. Vol. 17 Nos. 1,2, pp. 168-213. Clemson Extension. (1999). Preserving foods. Home and Garden Information Center. Retrieved 16 June 2008 from http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3000.htm Gosline, A. (2006). Why fast foods are bad, even in moderation. Newscientist. Retrieved 17 June 2008 from http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9318 Hofmann, O. (2006). Who eats the most fast food? Euromonitor Archive. Retrieved June 18, 2008 from http://www.euromonitor.com/Who_eats_the_most_fast_food NCHFP. National Center for Home Food Preservation. The University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Retrieved June 16, 2008 from http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ SNAC. (2005). What food additives add. University of California. Retrieved 12 June 2008 from www.snac.ucla.edu Tinklin, G.L, Fogg, N.E., and L.M. Wakefield. (1972). Convenience Foods: Factors Affecting Their Use Where Household Diets are Poor. Journal of Home Economics. Vol 64. No. 2. Read More