As a food science expert with a focus on food processing and nutrition, I can provide an informed perspective on this topic.

Minute Rice is indeed a processed food. It undergoes a process called parboiling, which involves partially cooking the rice grains before they are dried and packaged. This process changes the rice's texture and shortens the cooking time when it is prepared at home. Additionally, Minute Rice is often fortified with vitamins and minerals, which is another characteristic of processed foods as they are often enhanced to provide additional nutritional benefits.

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So for example, brown rice is milled one less step than white rice, which preserves some of its nutritional value. But instant rice, on the other hand, has been processed like this: milled from a seed on the plant down to white rice, then fully cooked and then dehydrated.read more >>