Food Processing for Improved Diets

The goal of this brief is to help the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its implementing partners design and implement food processing activities for improved diets and nutrition. It describes how food processing can improve diets, how it fits within USAID’s multi-sectoral food security and nutrition strategies, and what to consider when implementing food processing activities to improve diets and nutrition. The relationship between food processing and diets is complex; expanding the production of processed foods may play a role in both supporting and hindering food systems in delivering safe, nutritious diets. In regions of the world with high burdens of malnutrition—including both overweight/obesity, micronutrient deficiency, and undernutrition—food processing can be leveraged to improve diets and nutrition.