Abstract: Processed container foods are passed through a series of mechanical and chemical operations to preserve it for longer shelf life. Processed foods are those that come in tetra packs (box) and plastic or bottle containers with nutrient label which have more than one item on the list of ingredients. They are commercially prepared to ease the process of consumption. Some processed foods have artificial additives that are added for various purposes. The present study was aimed to know about the consumption of processed container foods among adults. The unstructured questionnaire was distributed among 100 participants. The study revealed that, 33% of the participants consume container foods weekly, 28% consume monthly and only 7% consume daily. Among the total respondents 43% consume because of the taste, 15% consume due to attractive look, 42% of them consume because of availability, 32% considered it has longer shelf life, 8% considered it as less expensive and 10% reported that they have some other reasons for the consumption of processed container foods. Among the participants, 39% of them preferred glass bottles, 33% preferred plastic bottles and only 28% of them preferred tetra pack. Most of the participants preferred banned container foods and 35% didn’t use it, 8% of them think that container foods contain healthy nutrient components whereas 62% of them considered container foods to be non-nutritious and 30% does not have much awareness about the nutritional role in packages. Regarding the side effects on the usage of processed container foods only 15% of the participants reported that they had side effects, 25% of them are not aware of the side effects and the majority stated that there were no side effects.

Keywords: Processed container foods, Preservation, Consumption, Artificial additives.

| DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.91005