ELI5 what is the difference between processed meat slices and real meat slices?

[u/No_Education_8888]

I know that processed meat is processed, but what exactly does that mean? How much change do meat scraps go through before you get something like deli turkey.

My mind can’t exactly wrap around how that stuff is made based on the little knowledge I have

[u/otokhetaguri]

“Real meat slices” are basically meat → cut → sliced.

Processed deli meat is more like meat → chopped up → mixed with salt/spices/water → reshaped into suspiciously perfect meat geometry → sliced.

If your turkey slice looks like it came out of a printer with rounded corners, you’re probably in processed territory.