processed

Processed is the past participle of process and is used as an adjective to describe something that has been changed or manufactured by a process. The term is broad, applying to goods, information, and activities that pass through a sequence of steps to alter their form, properties, or usefulness. The nature of the processing—whether intentional for safety, preservation, efficiency, or flavor—from mechanical to chemical to digital—determines how it is described.

In food, processed foods are those that have been altered from their natural state through methods such as heating, canning, freezing, drying, fermentation, irradiation, or packaging. This includes items like canned vegetables, bottled sauces, cheese, bread, and sausages. There is a spectrum from minimally processed foods — such as washed and cut vegetables — to highly processed or ultra-processed foods, which often include additives and ingredients not commonly used in home cooking. Processing can improve safety and shelf life but may affect taste and nutrition.

In information technology, processed data has been transformed or analyzed from raw data through computation, aggregation, or formatting. Processing also describes manufacturing steps applied to materials, such as metal processing, wood processing, or chemical processing. The term is also used in editing or preparing text and media for publication or distribution.

Because "processed" is context-dependent, its exact meaning varies by field and regulatory framework.