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{{Short description|Processed food designed for ease of preparation and consumption}}{{redirect-distinguish|Packaged food|Food packaging}}{{redirect-distinguish|Ready-to-eat food|Meal, Ready-to-Eat}}File:SnackfoodRackDF.JPG|thumb|Rack of convenience snack foods.]]Convenience food (also called tertiary processed food) is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) for ease of consumption, and is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have a long shelf life, or offer a combination of such convenient traits. Convenience foods include ready-to-eat dry products, frozen food such as TV dinners, shelf-stable food, prepared mixes such as cake mix, and snack food. Food scientists now consider most of these products to be ultra-processed foods and link them to poor health outcomes.JOURNAL, Monteiro, Carlos A., Cannon, Geoffrey, Levy, Renata B, Moubarac, Jean-Claude, Louzada, Maria L. C., Rauber, Fernanda, Khandpur, Neha, Cediel, Gustavo, Neri, Daniela, Martinez-Steele, Euridice, Baraldi, Larissa G., Jaime, Patricia C., 2019, Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them, Public Health Nutrition, en, 22, 5, 936–941, 10.1017/S1368980018003762, 1368-9800, 10260459, 30744710, Bread, cheese, salted food and other prepared foods have been sold for thousands of years, but these typically require a much lower level of industrial processing, as reflected in systems such as the Nova classification. Other types of food were developed with improvements in food technology. Types of convenience foods can vary by country and geographic region. Some convenience foods have received criticism due to concerns about nutritional content and how their packaging may increase solid waste in landfills. Various methods are used to reduce the unhealthy aspects of commercially produced food and fight childhood obesity.Convenience food is commercially prepared for ease of consumption.BOOK, The Nutrition Bible, Jean Anderson, Barbara Deskins, October 1995, William Morrow & Co, 978-0-688-11619-4, 1st, Jean Anderson (cookbook author), Products designated as convenience food are often sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or frozen food products that require minimal preparation (typically just heating).WEB,www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2434, Convenience Foods, 8 May 2003, Swiss Association for Nutrition, Health and Age Center, 18 May 2009,www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2434," title="web.archive.org/web/20090422033216www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2434,">web.archive.org/web/20090422033216www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=2434, 22 April 2009, dead, Convenience foods have also been described as foods that have been created to “make them more appealing to the consumer.“BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Hcl0fkcrfbEC&q=snack+chips+convenience+food&pg=PA335, Fatty Acids in Foods and their Health Implications, Third Edition, 376, 10 July 2013, 9781420006902, Chow, Ching Kuang, 19 November 2007, CRC Press, Convenience foods and restaurants are similar in that they save time.Ensminger 1994, p. 463. They differ in that restaurant food is ready to eat, whilst convenience food usually requires rudimentary preparation. Both typically cost more money and less time compared to home cooking from scratch.

History

Throughout history, people have bought food from bakeries, creameries, butcher shops and other commercial processors to save time and effort. The Aztec people of Central Mexico utilized several convenience foods that required only adding water for preparation, which were used by travelers.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=QIFTVWJH3doC&q=south+america+convenience+food&pg=PA138, Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 Years of Inventions and Innovations - Emory Dean Keoke, Kay Marie Porterfield, 138, 10 July 2013, 9781438109909, Keoke, Emory Dean, Porterfield, Kay Marie, 2009, Infobase, Cornmeal that was ground and dried, referred to as pinolli, was used by travelers as a convenience food in this manner.Canned food was developed in the 19th century, primarily for military use, and became more popular during World War I. The expansion of canning depended significantly upon the development of canneries for producing large quantities of cans very cheaply. Before the 1850s, making a can for food required a skilled tinsmith; afterwards, an unskilled laborer, operating a can-making machine, could produce 15 times as many cans each day.BOOK, Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure, Kawash, Samira, Faber and Faber, 2013, 9780865477568, 46–48, One of the earliest industrial-scale processed foods was meatpacking. After the invention of a system of refrigerator cars in 1878, animals could be raised, slaughtered, and butchered hundreds (later thousands) of miles or kilometers away from the consumer.(File:Grocery Store display-1966-11-no border.jpg|thumb|Grocery store display in 1966)Experience in World War II contributed to the development of frozen foods and the frozen food industry.Ensminger 1994, p. 465. Modern convenience food saw its beginnings in the United States during the period that began after World War II.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=TDiatOE5B24C&q=Japanese+convenience+food&pg=PA150, The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America, 150, 10 July 2013, 9781592138463, Gosse, Van, Moser, Richard R., 2008, Temple University Press, Many of these products had their origins in military-developed foods designed for storage longevity and ease of preparation in the battle field. Following the war, several commercial food companies had leftover manufacturing facilities, and some of these companies created new freeze-dried and canned foods for home use.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=jiLxeHlP03sC&q=history+convenience+food&pg=PA180, Diversity in European Marketing: Text and Cases, 180, 10 July 2013, 9783834969767, Rudolph, Thomas, Schlegelmilch, Bodo B., Bauer, András, Franch, Josep, Meise, Jan Niklas, 9 March 2012, Springer, Like many product introductions, not all were successful—convenience food staples such as fish sticks and canned peaches were counterbalanced by failures such as ham sticks and cheeseburgers-in-a-can.BOOK, Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America, Shapiro, Laura, Laura Shapiro, 29 March 2005, Penguin, 978-0-14-303491-9, New York, However, this new focus on convenience foods and the use of technology in the kitchen alleviated labor that was traditionally carried out by women, and therefore meals that could be prepared quickly enabled women to exercise more control over their time.{{citation | last = Maurer | first = Elizabeth | title = How Highly Processed Foods Liberated 1950s Housewives | publisher = National Women’s History Museum | year = 2017 | url =www.womenshistory.org/articles/how-highly-processed-foods-liberated-1950s-housewives}} As of the 2010s due to increased preference for fresh, “natural”, whole, and organic food and health concerns the acceptability of processed food to consumers in the United States was dropping and the reputation of major packaged food brands had been damaged. Firms responded by offering “healthier” formulations and acquisition of brands with better reputations.NEWS, Hans Taparia and Pamela Koch, A Seismic Shift in How People Eat,www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/opinion/a-seismic-shift-in-how-people-eat.html, 7 November 2015, The New York Times, 6 November 2015, The food movement over the past couple of decades has substantially altered consumer behavior and reshaped the competitive landscape.,

Types

Convenience foods can include products such as candy; beverages such as soft drinks, juices and milk; nuts, fruits and vegetables in fresh or preserved states; processed meats and cheeses; and canned products such as soups and pasta dishes. Additional convenience foods include frozen pizza, chips such as potato chips (known in Britain as crisps), pretzels, and cookies.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=uB9TZrE_gi4C&q=potato+chips+convenience+food&pg=PA22, Eating Properly - Jonathan Rees, 30 July 2005, 10 July 2013, 9781583405918, Rees, Jonathan, Smart Apple Media, {{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}These products are often sold in portion-controlled, single-serving packaging designed for portability.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=jiLxeHlP03sC&q=single+serving+convenience+food&pg=PA181, Diversity in European Marketing: Text and Cases, 181, 10 July 2013, 9783834969767, Rudolph, Thomas, Schlegelmilch, Bodo B., Bauer, András, Franch, Josep, Meise, Jan Niklas, 9 March 2012, Springer, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=RyYM4OuSixUC&q=single+serving+convenience+food&pg=PA333, Food, People and Society: A European Perspective of Consumers’ Food Choices, 21 September 2001, 333, 10 July 2013, 9783540415213, Frewer, Lynn J., Risvik, Einar, Schifferstein, Hendrik, Springer,

Packaged mixes

(File:Cake mix in plastic packet photo.JPG|thumb|A cake mix)Gristmills have produced flour for baking for thousands of years. In more recent times flour has been sold with other ingredients mixed in, as have other products ready to cook. Packaged mixes are convenience foodsBOOK,books.google.com/books?id=nT0d4Ewjb1wC&q=Packaged+mix+convenience+foods&pg=PA5, Dimensions of Food, Fifth Edition - Vickie A. Vaclavik, Ph.D., Marcia H. Pimentel, M.S., Marjorie M. Devine, Ph.D., 10 July 2013, 9781439832714, Vickie a. Vaclavik, Ph. D., Marjorie m. Devine, Ph. D., Marcia h. Pimentel, M. S., 7 June 2002, CRC Press, which typically require some preparation and cooking either in the oven or on the stove top.Packaged baked goods mixes typically use chemical leaveners (commonly referred to as baking powderJohn Brodie, John Godber “Bakery Processes, Chemical Leavening Agents” in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology 2001, John Wiley & Sons. {{doi|10.1002/0471238961.0308051303082114.a01.pub2}}), for a quick, reliable result, avoiding the requirement for time-consuming skilled labor and the climate control needed for traditional yeast breads. These packaged mixes produce a type of quickbread.Examples include cake mixes,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=PMOrW3zkirwC&q=Packaged+mixes&pg=PA143, Food bites [electronic resource]: the science of the foods we eat - Richard W. Hartel, AnnaKate Hartel, 10 July 2013, 9780387758459, Hartel, Richard W., Hartel, Annakate, 1 March 2009, Springer, macaroni and cheese,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=AoWlCmNDA3QC&q=macaroni+and+cheese+convenience+food&pg=PA363, The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, 10 July 2013, 9780195307962, Smith, Andrew F., May 2007, Oxford University Press, USA, brownie mixes,BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=w3PszdK5gtIC&q=Packaged+mixes&pg=PA39, Destination Mexico: Planning a Cruise to Mexico - Carolyn Mehaffy, Bob Mehaffy, 10 July 2013, 9780939837410, Mehaffy, Carolyn, Mehaffy, Bob, November 1995, Paradise Cay Publications, and gravy mixes.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=iPFokL0MuswC&q=Packaged+gravy+mixes&pg=PA339, Prevention Magazine’s Nutrition Advisor: The Ultimate Guide to the Health-Boosting and Health-Harming Factors in Your Diet, 15 August 1994, 10 July 2013, 9780875962252, Bricklin, Mark, Rodale, Some packaged mixes may have a high saturated fat content.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=8gqHERUZlw8C&q=Packaged+mixes&pg=PA221, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Anti-Inflammation Diet - Christopher Cannon, Elizabeth Vierck, 10 July 2013, 9781440696879, Cannon, Dr. Christopher P., Vierck, Elizabeth, Beale, Lucy, 5 December 2006, Penguin,

By country

File:Onigiri at a convenience store by typester in Kamakura.jpg|thumb|Onigiri at a convenience store in Kamakura, JapanJapanIn 2007, it was noted in the book Australia’s food & nutrition 2012 that a distinct increase in convenience food consumption had been occurring in Australia.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=eIfb1zwTFqcC&q=australia+convenience+food&pg=PA13, Australia’s food & nutrition 2012, 13, 10 July 2013, 9781742493237, Welfare, Australian Institute of Health and, 2012, In the Republic of Ireland, breakfast rolls eaten by busy workers became a symbol of the Celtic Tiger economic boom.NEWS,www.independent.ie/irish-news/top-breakfast-baguette-rolls-into-irish-history-26445568.html, Top breakfast baguette rolls into Irish history, McDonald, Brian, 12 May 2008, Irish Independent, 3 February 2019, en, In Japan, onigiri (rice balls) are a popular convenience foodBOOK,books.google.com/books?id=mJvpFC1-x5AC&q=Japanese+convenience+food&pg=PA131, Fast Food, Slow Food: The Cultural Economy of the Global Food System, 10 July 2013, 9780759109155, Wilk, Richard R., 2006, that dates for millennia — by the Heian period these were established enough to be mentioned in literature.BOOK In the Philippines, ready-to-consume packages of traditional Filipino dishes such as sisig, adobo, and caldereta are popular products offered by convenience stores across the country.WEB, Lucas, Daxim L., 2019-09-06, More Filipinos getting everyday meals from convenience stores,business.inquirer.net/278309/more-filipinos-getting-everyday-meals-from-convenience-stores, 2023-11-19, INQUIRER.net, en, Canned tuna packed in oil is a convenience food in the Solomon Islands.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Ly3JcCmf7VoC&q=Japanese+convenience+food&pg=PA3, A Japanese Joint Venture in the Pacific: Foreign bodies in tinned tuna - Kate Barclay, 9780203930908, 10 July 2013, Barclay, Kate, 8 February 2008, In Russia, frozen pelmeni, a type of meat dumplings, adopted from Uralic peoples such as Komi, Mansi and Udmurts,Dal Dictionary on-line derives the etymology of pel’men’ from pel’=ear and nan’=bread in Komi and Mansi (Vogul) languages. This may be why pelmeni are called uszka (“ears“) in Poland. are known from at least the 18th century, and industrially produced and prepacked pelmeni are a staple of the supermarket freezer sections.

By region

In Western Africa, processed cassava flour that has been grated and dried is a popular convenience food.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=1s-a7EMM6BgC&q=african+convenience+food&pg=PA30, Food Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa - Fran Osseo-Asare, 30, 9780313324888, 10 July 2013, Osseo-Asare, Fran, 2005,

Retail

In some instances, retail sales of convenience foods may provide higher profit margins for food retailers compared to the profits attained from sales of the individual ingredients that are present in the convenience foods.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=0tWMtRLaZOEC&q=convenience+food+history&pg=PA350, Food: The History of Taste, 350, 9780520254763, 11 July 2013, Freedman, Paul, Freedman, Professor Paul, 2007, A survey in 1984 attributed over one-third of funds spent by consumers for food in Britain to be for convenience food purchases.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Yg0VASw8KO8C&q=british+convenience+food&pg=PA145, The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain Since 1950 - Avner Offer, 145, 9780198208532, 10 July 2013, Offer, Avner, 9 March 2006,

Environmental and health concerns

(File:7-Eleven Frozen Spaghetti Rendang.JPG|thumb|Refrigerated dinner, to be heated in a microwave oven)Several groups have cited the environmental harm of single serve packaging due to the increased usage of plastics that contributes to solid waste in landfills.WEB,www.wastewatch.org.uk/page/4819/About-Us/Our-views/Talking-about-waste-prevention, Talking about waste prevention, Waste Watch UK, 14 July 2009,www.wastewatch.org.uk/page/4819/About-Us/Our-views/Talking-about-waste-prevention," title="web.archive.org/web/20090915182340www.wastewatch.org.uk/page/4819/About-Us/Our-views/Talking-about-waste-prevention,">web.archive.org/web/20090915182340www.wastewatch.org.uk/page/4819/About-Us/Our-views/Talking-about-waste-prevention, 15 September 2009, dead, WEB,www.scientistlive.com/European-Food-Scientist/Packaging/Food_packaging_waste_a_concern/19764/, Food packaging waste a concern, 14 February 2008, Reuters, 14 July 2009, Wasteful food packaging is among the fastest-growing environmental concerns for shoppers worldwide with New Zealanders most willing to cut back, a poll showed on Thursday.,www.scientistlive.com/European-Food-Scientist/Packaging/Food_packaging_waste_a_concern/19764," title="web.archive.org/web/20090301152707www.scientistlive.com/European-Food-Scientist/Packaging/Food_packaging_waste_a_concern/19764,">web.archive.org/web/20090301152707www.scientistlive.com/European-Food-Scientist/Packaging/Food_packaging_waste_a_concern/19764, 1 March 2009, dead, Due to concerns about obesity and other health problems, some health organizations have criticized the high fat, sugar, salt, food preservatives and food additives that are present in some convenience foods.In most developed countries, 80% of consumed salt comes from industry-prepared food (5% come from natural salt; 15% comes from salt added during cooking or eating).JOURNAL, Should we eat less salt?, 10.1016/j.acvd.2013.01.003, 23769406, 106, 5, Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases, 324–332, 2013, Delahaye, François, free, Health effects of salt concentrate on sodium and depend in part on how much is consumed. A single serving of many convenience foods contains a significant portion of the recommended daily allowance of sodium. Manufacturers are concerned that if the taste of their product is not optimized with salt, it will not sell as well as competing products. Tests have shown that some popular packaged foods depend on significant amounts of salt for their palatability.NEWS, The hard sell on salt, Michael Moss, The New York Times, 29 May 2010,www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/health/30salt.html,

Labeling, mitigation, and regulation

(File:Very long ingredients list with may preservatives on highly processed food.jpg|thumb|Many preservatives, salts, artificial colors and artificial flavorings are used in this highly processed frozen food item.)In response to the issues surrounding the healthfulness of convenience and restaurant foods, an initiative in the United States, spearheaded by Michelle Obama and her Let’s Move! campaign, to reduce the unhealthy aspects of commercially produced food and fight childhood obesity, was unveiled by the White House in February 2010. Mrs. Obama has pushed the industry to cut back on sugars and salts found in many convenience foods, encouraging self-regulation over government intervention through laws and regulations.WEB, Sweet, Lynn, Michelle Obama Unveils Anti-Childhood Obesity Action Plan,www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/11/michelle-obama-unveils-anti-childhood-obesity-action-plan/, Politics Daily, 29 May 2010, 11 May 2010, 19 August 2018,www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/11/michelle-obama-unveils-anti-childhood-obesity-action-plan," title="web.archive.org/web/20180819230533www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/11/michelle-obama-unveils-anti-childhood-obesity-action-plan,">web.archive.org/web/20180819230533www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/11/michelle-obama-unveils-anti-childhood-obesity-action-plan, dead, Despite Mrs. Obama’s stated preference on self-regulation, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it was looking into quantifying the guidelines into law while other groups and municipalities are seeking to add other preventive measures such as target taxes and levies onto these products.NEWS, 16 Food Companies Agree to Reduce Salt,www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/26/health/main6434928.shtml, CBS News, Associated Press, 26 April 2010, 29 May 2010, 2010-10-29,www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/26/health/main6434928.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20101029132011www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/26/health/main6434928.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20101029132011www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/26/health/main6434928.shtml, dead, WEB, Jaldonick, Mary Clare, Food companies agree to remove 15 trillion calories from foods to reduce childhood obesity,business.gaeatimes.com/2010/05/17/food-companies-agree-to-remove-15-trillion-calories-from-foods-to-reduce-childhood-obesity-61817/, Business News, Associated Press, 29 May 2010, 17 May 2010, In response to the attention, in April 2010 a coalition of sixteen manufacturers all agreed to reduce salt levels in foods sold in the United States under a program based on a similar effort in the United Kingdom. However, the initiative has met with resistance from some manufacturers, who claim that processed foods require the current high levels of salt to remain appetizing and to mask undesirable effects of food processing such as “warmed-over flavor”. The coalition expanded its mission in May 2010 by announcing that it intends to reduce the amount of calories in foods. By introducing lower calorie foods, changing product recipes and reducing portion sizes, the coalition stated that it expected to reduce the caloric content of foods by more than 1.5 trillion calories in total by 2012.

Social inequality

As previously stated, convenience foods cover a variety of food groups and come in numerous forms. Thus, there are a variety of healthy and unhealthy convenience foods. Research such as the 2002 study by Kimberly Morland et al., have correlated inequalities between low-income communities and increased access to unhealthy convenience foods. This is mostly due to the decline of affordable grocery stores in some urban areas.JOURNAL, Morland, Kimberly, Wing, Steve, Diez Roux, Ana, Poole, Charles, January 2002, Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of food stores and food service places, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 22, 1, 23–29, 10.1016/s0749-3797(01)00403-2, 0749-3797, 2027.42/56186,deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56186/1/Morland%20K%2c%20Neighborhood%20characteristics%20associated%20with%20the%20location%20of%20food%20stores%20and%20food%20service%20places%2c%202002.pdf, 11777675, free, JOURNAL, The contextual effect of the local food environment on residents’ diets: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study, American Journal of Public Health, 92, 11, 1761–7, 12406805, 1447325, 2002, Morland, K., Wing, S., Diez Roux, A., 10.2105/ajph.92.11.1761, Comparing low-income communities to more affluent communities, there are four times more supermarkets located in white communities than the black communities (commonly found in food deserts). As a result, the 2002 study concluded that with limited access to healthy food options in supermarkets, members within the low-income and minority communities have unequal access.{{Primary source inline|date=November 2018}} A 2010 study by Dharma E. Cortes et al. also found a connection between consumption of unhealthy convenience food and minority communities. Limited access to healthy food options has resulted in an increase in obesity amongst members in these communities.JOURNAL, Cortés, Dharma E., Millán-Ferro, Andreina, Schneider, Karen, Vega, Rodolfo R., Caballero, A. Enrique, March 2013, Food Purchasing Selection Among Low-Income, Spanish-Speaking Latinos, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44, 3, S267–S273, 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.11.012, 23415192, 0749-3797, free, {{Primary source inline|date=November 2018}}Many low-income families struggle with buying fresh fruits and vegetables and nutritional meals for their families because of the price of the products. These families are most often located in food deserts and fresh food is not readily available in their community. Thus, families resort to buying food that is high in fat, sugar, and salt because these highly processed options are inexpensive. These highly processed foods make up a significant portion of unhealthy convenience foods.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=8rotBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Social+Injustice+in+Our+Food+Systems+Contributes+to+Food+Insecurity+and+Obesity%22&pg=PA331, Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice, Thompson, Sherwood, 18 December 2014, Rowman & Littlefield, 9781442216068, 331–334, Food Justice: Social Injustice in Our Food Systems Contributes to Food Insecurity and Obesity,

See also

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Comfort food
• Food desert
• Food packaging
• Food preservation
• Food processing
• Junk food
• List of foods
• Snack food
• Ultra-processed food{{div col end}}

References

{{Reflist|30em|refs=}}

Bibliography

• Ensminger, Audrey H. (1994). Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia: A-H. 1. CRC Press. Pages 463-476 {{ISBN|0849389801}}

Further reading

• Lawrence, Geoffrey; Lyons, Kristen; Wallington, Tabatha (2012). Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability. Routledge. Chapter 8, pages (unlisted). {{ISBN|1136545654}}
• Obenauf, Carl F. (2004). The Building of an Industry: The History of the Convenience Food Industry. C.F. Obenauf.

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