What impact does the industrialization of food production have on our lives?

First of all, food has become safer.

At present, the safety control of industrialized food can not be compared with that of manual small workshop food. From raw material control, supply chain control, hazard analysis of each processing/storage process, key point control, as well as detailed food safety records, traceability system and recall mechanism, these are all impossible for small workshops. Especially fermented food, stinky tofu and pickles produced by manual workshops are prone to contamination by miscellaneous bacteria, and self-brewing is prone to methanol exceeding the standard. Industrial food can avoid these problems to the greatest extent through accurate fermentation parameter control.

Then, the food also becomes more delicious.

Industrialized food will do a series of sensory experiments and consumer tests in the research and development process, and gradually improve in round after round of tests. Finally, the taste presented to consumers will certainly not be too bad, and it is "the taste recognized by most target consumers." Handmade food may be more polarized.

Some industrialized foods will also add various food additives, a large part of which is used to improve sensory quality. Simply put, the purpose is to make food "better to eat". For example, adding leavening agent can make the cake softer; Adding flavor enhancer can make the seasoning fresher; After adding essence, the sauce will smell better. These additives are safe and harmless to human body as long as they are added in a limited amount and are not used in excess or beyond the scope, and can enhance the sensory quality of food. Why not?

Moreover, some new foods have appeared.

Some foods have emerged with the tide of industrialization, such as canned food, instant noodles and instant coffee. Before food industrialization, there was no such category at all. After industrialization, more kinds of food appear, and we have more choices.

Food is no longer restricted by region.

For example, K-Kee introduced American fried chicken to the world. No matter where you eat it, it tastes the same. We can also eat authentic American fried chicken flavor in China. Although handmade food can also be popular all over the world and even form a food culture, it is quite difficult to standardize it and make it "the same wherever you eat it".

Before the industrialization of dairy products, only the areas around the pasture could have a steady supply of fresh milk. After the invention of UHT milk (ultra-high temperature sterilized milk), the milk produced by any dairy enterprise can be sold directly to the whole country.

Industrialized food is also cheaper.

Needless to say, as we all know, because of large-scale production, raw material procurement and processing costs are more economical than handmade food, and the final product is also cheaper than handmade food.

Industrialized food can be healthier.

The word "can" is used here because there are indeed many processed foods that are worse than handmade foods in terms of hygiene. For example, canned food is certainly not as nutritious as fresh food. Most processed meat products are also unhealthy. But these can be solved by technical means. For example, improve the production process, remove harmful substances, and add nutritional fortifiers. Instant noodles have been criticized as unhealthy before, mainly because of too much oil and salt, not enough vegetables and vitamin damage. But now instant noodles with non-fried+retort pouch+freeze-dried vegetable bags are much healthier than traditional instant noodles (although water-soluble vitamins are still lost). In the long run, the health and nutritional value of industrialized food will be higher and higher.

Even handmade food can't completely avoid industrialization.

This is easy to understand. Usually cooking at home, always add seasoning. Salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, etc. These seasonings are also produced by industrial means. When baking by hand, you must always buy flour, butter, eggs and other raw materials, which are also produced by industrial means. It is quite difficult to completely avoid industrialization and get "pure handmade products"