Jimmy Doherty investigates the contents of our shopping trolley in an innovative new series that looks at the science behind making mass-produced food.

Jimmy started his own farm to learn more about how his food is produced. But he can’t grow everything he eats, so now he’s wondering what goes into making all the other food we buy from the supermarket.

Jimmy’s mission takes him to the country’s leading food manufacturers to unravel the scientific secrets behind removing bugs from bagged salad, keeping frozen ice cream soft and making cans that keep beans fresh for years.

Armed with all the tricks and techniques learned from the big boys, Jimmy decamps to a Suffolk barn to set up his own food factory, complete with a prototype supermarket food production line. Can he build a machine to flash freeze peas faster than the factory-standard 16 minutes? Will making bread in a dustbin really keep it soft for a week? Does tumbling pork in a cement mixer really produce square sandwich ham?

Jimmy’s Food Factory is full of unlikely surprises about the science of making mass-produced food. Viewers will never look at the supermarket shelves in the same way again.

TV pig farmer Jimmy Doherty will visit the country’s leading food manufacturers to discover the science behind mass production for his debut BBC series.

The 6 x 30-minute Jimmy’s Food Factory, by BBC Scotland’s specialist factual team, will see the Jimmy’s Farm star investigate food production techniques used by companies such as Heinz, Walkers, Unilever and Vitacress.

Jimmy will see how complicated making food has become, learning how suppliers achieve things such as keeping their bread fresh and making their crisps crisp.

He will then head to his Suffolk farm to use the techniques he has picked up to create a dish that he thinks is good enough to be sold in supermarkets.

The series will also feature facts about food manufacturers and explain how they keep supermarket shelves stocked.

broadcastnow.co.uk