What Is Processed Meat and Is It Bad for Your Health? Amy Gorin, MS, RDN Replay Video What is processed meat? Processed meat is as American as baseball, a game where, incidentally, you'll usually find processed hot dogs draped in cheese sauce (also processed). "Processed red meat differs from fresh red meat in that it's been cured, salted, smoked, canned, or treated with preservatives," says Lisa Andrews, a registered dietitian and owner of Sound Bites Nutrition in Cincinnati. Along with hot dogs, processed meat includes bacon, sausage, bologna, corned beef, salami, ham, and beef jerky. Yup, your beloved bacon is processed, and so is pepperoni and packaged deli meat.