The food system

The food you eat is produced by a complicated, global food system – that involves many activities and processes that get your food from farm to fork. The main activities in the food system are shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1: The food system. ©University of Reading, image adapted from Ericksen (2008) [1]

• Producing – primary food production of crops and animals from agriculture and fishing.
• Processing and packaging – secondary food processing of food into a whole variety of different food products.
• Distributing and retailing – including transportation, marketing and selling to the consumer.
• Consuming and disposing of waste – buying, preparing, consuming of food and disposing of waste products.

Producing food

Figure 2: Output of the agricultural industry, EU-28, 2017. Source: Eurostat [2] © European Union, 1995-2013

Figure 3: Export – Import data on foods in the EU (2017). Source Eurostat [3]. © European Union, 1995-2013

The information in Figure 3 shows that in 2017 the EU-28 exported (darker coloured bars) and imported (lighter coloured bars) different amounts of food across 24 categories. The main categories (in financial terms) that were imported to boost existing levels in the EU-28 included:

• Aquatic produce (ie fish, crustaceans, molluscs)
• Edible fruits, nuts, peel
• Coffee, tea, spices

On the other hand, the key exports from the EU-28 were:

• Beverages, spirits and vinegar
• Cereals, flour, starch
• Dairy produce
• Meat

Processing and packaging

Primary processing involves cutting, cleaning, packaging, storage and refrigeration of raw foods to ensure that they are not spoilt before they reach the consumer. These minimally processed foods retain the original properties ie nutrition, physical, sensory and chemical properties as the unprocessed form and are ready for further processing by the food industry (secondary processing). Primary processing examples include milling of wheat, pasteurisation of milk and the sorting and refrigeration of meat and often, are a necessary step for ensuring food safety before the food is consumed.

Secondary food production involves converting raw food ingredients into more useful or edible forms. Secondary food products are refined, purified, extracted or transformed from minimally processed primary food products [4,5,6]. Examples of secondary food products are processed dairy, flours, edible oils, sugars/sweeteners and starches [4]. Secondary food processes may vary depending on the type of food group, but could include physical processes such as pressing, milling and dehydration, and chemical processes such as hydrolysis, hydrogenation or using enzymes [4].

Ultra-processed food products are produced by combining primary food products and other secondary food products to create ready-to-eat food and drink products with high sensory appeal; eg cakes, sweets, jams, soft drinks and ready meals [7].

To increase the attractiveness of the secondary food products to the consumer, they could be fortified with vitamins, minerals or functional compounds/organism such as probiotics.

Some secondary food production processes, such as heat treatment, fermentation and packaging, may be used to extend the shelf life of the primary food ingredient. Packaging is important to protect the food product and delay physical, chemical and biological deterioration. This process is vital for many convenience foods, ensuring the availability of a variety of high quality, nutritious and affordable foods all year round within the UK, Europe and around the world [5].

Distributing and retail

The third or “tertiary” activity in global food system focuses on the food services industry; including food wholesalers, distributors and retailers. This food system involves the safe handling (ie distribution/transport/supply, storage and sale/trade) of primary and secondary food products. It also addresses the management of consumer need and demand and broader issues such as minimising food waste.

In the UK, retailers are deeply involved into the consumer markets (downstream) and in the production and distribution processes (upstream) [8]. The retailer is not a passive food distributor: it can drive the production, innovation, quality and packaging of foods [9]. Supermarkets (especially in the UK) are responsive to consumer concerns; for example they can be involved in setting environmental standards in the supply chain by sourcing more sustainable foods [8] such as fairtrade [10] and organic products [11].

Consuming and disposing of waste

The final activity in the food system relates to consumption of food and disposal of waste which is unfortunately beyond the scope of this course. If you’re interested in finding out more, you may find the recommended reading/information sources helpful in the ‘See also’ section.

The full list of references can be found under ‘Downloads’ and further reading is provided under ‘See also’ – both found at the bottom of this Step