Urban lifestyles, growing distances between home and workplace, working women, and changes in family cohesion are all factors increasing the demand for shelf-stable, convenience (time-saving) and value-added foods. This has stimulated the rapid growth of food processing industries in urban areas, and created opportunities for income generation, employment and economic growth.

Urban food industries benefit from easier access to consumer markets, lower transport and distribution costs, and proximity to diverse services including information technology and waste treatment facilities. Competition for resources (land, water, labour and energy) often results in insufficient quantities and quality of water, unreliable electricity supply for powering processing equipment, unsanitary premises lacking appropriate facilities for disposing process waste, difficulty in accessing processing inputs including raw materials, packaging and equipment, and lack of trained staff.

Selected documents

• FAO Technologies combinées de conservation des fruits et des légumes - Manuel de formation, 2004
• FAO Conservación de frutas y hortalizas mediante tecnologías combinadas - Manual de capacitación
• FAO Market infrastructure planning, a Guide for Decision Makers, 1999
• FAO Technical Manual on Small-Scale Processing of Fruits and Vegetables, 1997
• FAO Street foods - Alimentation de rue - Alimentos que se venden en la vía pública, 1997. See Development of Appropriate Technologies
• FAO publication. Fruit and vegetable processing, 1995
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, packing, or holding human food
• Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG). Food processing technical briefs