Canned tuna is quite popular. as an affordable and tasty ingredient that you can add to salads, sandwiches and pasta. Like any other canned or jarred food, you might assume it’s processed meat. However, you should know that processed foods include many categories and not all of them are harmful to health.
First, let’s clarify that the term “food processing” refers to handling or changing a food from its natural state. The global and national health organizations follow a classification system for processed foods known as NOVA which includes 4 categories of processing :
- minimally processed,
- processed cooking ingredients,
- processed foods and
- highly processed foods.
Each category builds on the previous one.
Canned Tuna: Which Category of Processed Food Does It Fall Into?
Canned tuna falls under the category of processed foods, which are defined as minimally processed foods produced with the help of processed cooking ingredients.
Processed foods usually contain few ingredients such as salt, sugar, oil or vinegar that are used to preserve the preserves. Canned tuna is cooked whole in the oven and then canned in water, salt water or oil. Tuna pre-cooking and preservation are two types of processing that are widely used and do not harm health.
Canned tuna is a processed food with many health benefits. It is an excellent source of “clean” protein and omega-3 fatty acids, while also being low in fat and calories. If you avoid salt, you can choose tuna canned in water or in oil.
What is hyper-processed meat?
Food processing is a broad category, including non-harmful food processing, as evidenced by canning tuna. However, the bad reputation it has acquired comes from the latter category, namely ultra-processed foods.
Ultra-processed foods use either harmful pre-cooking methods such as frying, industrial processing methods such as extrusion, synthetic or modified cooking ingredients such as hydrogenated oils and chemical preservatives or flavor enhancers.
Such techniques deplete the nutritional content or value of minimally processed foods or cause health problems such as obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Most highly processed foods have a long list of unrecognizable ingredients or words, such as “modified,” “artificial flavors,” and “high fructose corn syrup.”
The only highly processed fish products that fall into this category are fish sticks, pre-cooked fish or fish patties.
