Table 1.

Processed food categories in sub-Saharan Africa

Processing category	Degree of processing	Explanation	African examples
Unprocessed	None	Foods that have not been processed (such as raw fruit or dried beans)	Raw grain, live chicken, raw/dried fruit
Minimally processed	First stage	Single-ingredient foods and beverages with no or very slight modifications (e.g., cleaning, removal of inedible or unwanted parts, grinding, drying, fermentation, pasteurization, cooling, freezing)	Flour, edible oil, packaged milk, dried fish, butchered meat
Highly processed	Second stage	Multiple ingredient manufactured	Noodles, bread, cheese, foods preserved in salt or oil, multi-ingredient foods
Ultraprocessed	Second stage	Highly processed with products with added salt, sugar, oil, or other culinary ingredients to make processed foods and beverages more palatable or to extend preservation; these can be by SMEs or by large industrial firms that also add inputs like emulsifiers or high-fructose corn syrup	SSBs (bottled/canned sodas), packaged cookies, beer; traditional mandaazi
Ultraprocessed prepared FAFH	Third stage	Cooked dishes and snacks with many ingredients and high in added saturated fats, sugar, or salt bought away from home	Rice with sauce, chicken and potato fries, millet porridge and yogurt, cowpea fritters