Vol. 34, No.2

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Continuing Professional Education Credit

SOY CONNECTION Newsletter Vol. 34, No.2

Processed Foods, Demystified: Scientific Insights to Put into Practice awards 1.25 CPEU in accordance with the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s CPEU Prior Approval Program.

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1. Angelica is an outpatient seeking your advice to optimize her nutrient intake; she has heard food processing is “bad”. She asks for your professional opinion about food processing. What are some of the advantages of food processing?

Food processing has played a central role in food preservation for thousands of years.

Food processing helps to reduce waste, extend shelf life, preserve nutrition, and enable affordable safe foods as scale.

All food processing is bad and increases food waste and use of dangerous preservatives that make foods expensive.

A and B

2. Food ingredients and additives serve science-based functions from safety and stability to texture, flavor, and fortification. Such ingredients and additives are

Not subject to oversight by the FDA.

Not GRAS.

Subject to FDA oversight and meet GRAS criteria.

Derived from only artificial sources.

3. The health value of all processed foods, including those labeled ultra-processed, should be assessed by

Nutrient content and dietary role, not degree of processing alone.

Only the degree of processing without consideration of the nutrient content.

Only the content of artificial ingredients, including flavors and dyes.

Only the degree of processing and the amount of artificial red dye.

4. Which of the following are examples of processed foods?

A peeled and sliced apple

Cubes of unflavored tofu

Canned peas

All of the above

5. Martin has two small children and is concerned about feeding them any processed foods because he read online that processed foods are “poison” and “unsafe” because food processing and manufacturing facilities are unregulated and not subject to any laws or oversight. What are some discussion points you could share with Martin to help assuage his concerns about the safety of U.S. food manufactures?

There are laws designed to prevent foodborne illness and maintain high quality products including Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The FDA maintains a list of over 3,000 ingredients that are added to food in the U.S. Detailed information on the nature and function of specific ingredients.

All foods and food products are regulated by agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. The FDA has created standards of identity (SOIs) for over 250 foods to prevent food fraud detailing descriptions that define what a food must contain, what ingredients are optional, the amount or proportion of each ingredient, and the production methods used.

All of the above

6. The primary goal of ingredient selection and formulation is to create a finished product that is not only fundamentally safe but also has desirable sensory properties. Examples of acidulants which are organic and mineral acids that modify the pH of the finished product, include:

Sodium benzoate and sorbic acid

Citric and phosphoric acid

Lecithin and monoglycerides

Omega 3 fatty acids and guar gum

7. Relative to other legumes, a soybean is much higher in __, with >40% of calories coming from this macronutrient. Soybeans are also higher in _ with about 35% of calories provided by this macronutrient.

Carbohydrate; fat

Fat; carbohydrate

Fat; protein

Carbohydrate; protein

8. It is estimated soybean oil accounts for over 7% of U.S. caloric intake and more than 40% of intake of which two essential fatty acids?

The omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid and the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid.

The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid linolenic acid and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, Docosahexaenoic acid.

The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic and the omega-3 fatty acid EPA, Eicosapentaenoic acid.

The omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, Docosahexaenoic acid.

9. Crude soybean _______ is a by-product of soybean oil processing, widely used in food industry as an emulsifier to stabilize foods by bringing water and oil together.

Guar gum

Lecithin

Agar

Gelatin

10. Walter is concerned about his cholesterol levels and cardiovascular risk and asks you about the benefits of plant-based diets rich in soybeans. Research indicates that _ and __, contained in soybeans or soybean by-products, may have a hypocholesterolemic effect.

Phytosterols and lecithin

Lecithin and refined carbohydrates

Phytosterols and leucine

Phytosterols and isoleucine

11. Sarah is a patient interested in guiding her food choices using a food rating app on her phone. She says when scanning barcodes of certain foods she thought were healthier choices, the food is scored negatively by the app. What are some key points you might discuss with Sarah about the limitations of some food rating apps?

Food rating apps have few limitations, and it is important to judge foods as “good” or “bad” to limit unhealthful nutrition choice, particularly any foods that have any additives of any amount.

A key limitation is how food rating apps use a single score that cannot account for portion size, dietary context, frequency of consumption, or individual health needs.

Most food rating apps evaluate foods in the full context of the dietary patterns in which they are actually consumed and are specifically tailored to the user but do not account for additives.

Food rating apps are limited by individual grocery stores and must be used within a specific store for accuracy and meal planning.

12. In terms of complementing your clinical counseling, you may encourage Sarah and other clients to seek food rating apps that support ___________, meal planning or food journaling to increase awareness without moralizing food choices or creating unnecessary fear.

Nutrient tracking

Allergy risk

Additive content

Binary good/bad labels

13. One app called Open Food Facts allows users to filter and highlight nutrition information based on individual priorities and uses the _______nutrition rating system, but it is more personalized and guides users toward products that fit their individual needs.

Nutri-Score

Food-judgment Score

Nutrient-needs Score

Personal-Score

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Soy Connection is a collaboration of health, nutrition and food industry experts with U.S. soybean farmers to educate on the benefits of sustainably grown U.S. soybeans, including heart-healthy soybean oil and soy protein. Soy Connection is brought to you by U.S. Soy and the United Soybean Board (USB), a national checkoff funded by U.S. soybean farmers. © 2026 United Soybean Board.