Home-made vs industry-made: Nutrient composition and content of potentially harmful compounds of different food products.

Many consumers perceive industrially processed foods as lower in quality and potentially harmful to health, with concerns about poor nutrition, additives, and harmful compounds formed during processing. Epidemiological studies have highlighted risks associated with "ultra-processed foods," but empirical comparisons between industrial (IND) and home-made (HM) foods are scarce. This study aimed to compare nutritional values and harmful compounds in IND vs. HM versions of four common foods: plumcake, fish sticks, tomato sauce, and cereal bars. The HM foods were prepared using similar recipes to their industrial counterparts, avoiding technologies and ingredients not available at home. The analysis revealed identical nutritional compositions between the IND and HM versions. Acrylamide (AA) and Maillard reaction (MR) products, considered potentially harmful, showed comparable levels across the food pairs, though HM versions showed slightly higher levels in some cases. AA was undetectable in IND plumcake and HM cereal bars, while HM fish sticks had higher AA content than the industrial version. These findings indicate that homemade foods do not necessarily offer superior nutritional quality or lower levels of harmful compounds compared to industrial products. The classification of food products quality based on processing or industrial ingredients alone is not a reliable indicator of their healthiness.