Ultra-processed food

There is no simple definition of UPF, but they are generally understood to be an industrial creation derived from natural food or synthesized from other organic compounds.

[1][2] The resulting products are designed to be highly profitable, convenient, and hyperpalatable, often through food additives such as preservatives, colourings, and flavourings.

[13] Other authors, mostly in the field of nutrition, have been critical of the lack of attributed mechanisms for the health effects, focusing on how the current research evidence does not provide specific explanations for how ultra-processed food affects body systems.

[17][18][19][20] Monteiro's team developed the Nova classification for grouping unprocessed and processed foods beginning in 2010, whose definition of ultra-processing became the most widely accepted, refined through successive publications.

[7] The identification of ultra-processed foods, as well as the category itself, is a subject of debate among nutrition and public health scientists, and other definitions have been proposed.

On the contrary, they are designed to be ready-to-eat (sometimes with addition of liquid such as milk) or ready-to-heat, and are often consumed alone or in combination (such as savoury snacks with soft drinks, bread with burgers).

[9] This definition is as much social as one based on specific ingredients, which makes the understanding of ultra-processed foods highly intuitive, even among untrained consumers.

Processes enabling the manufacture of ultra-processed foods include industrial techniques such as extrusion, moulding and pre-frying; application of additives including those whose function is to make the final product palatable or hyperpalatable such as flavours, colourants, non-sugar sweeteners and emulsifiers; and sophisticated packaging, usually with synthetic materials.

The Siga Index also defines ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as those with a score below 40, which are considered to have low nutritional value and high levels of additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients.

[a] These studies have shown an overall increased risk for disease – including poor cardiometabolic and mental health, and reduced life expectancy[11][12][44] – although studies separating different types of ultra-processed food have found adverse effects mainly for only some sub-groups such as soft drinks and animal products, with some sub-groups such as cereals showing an inverse effect.

[53] However, the "UPF" classification also includes plant-based dairy and meat substitutes, which contribute lower emissions compared to their animal-based counterparts.

[54] Plant-based UPF-containing diets are not only minimally associated with health risks, but are also linked to lower greenhouse gas emissions and water use.

[56] Leite et al. (2022) describes an overlooked aspect of the discourse: UPFs are generally produced from a handful of high-yielding plant species.

These measures face significant challenges, including industry opposition and the global nature of food supply chains.

Future policy efforts may require a combination of regulation, education, and incentives to promote healthier, more sustainable food choices.

Four Latin American countries—Brazil,[58] Uruguay,[59] Peru,[60] and Ecuador[61]—have so far published national official dietary guidelines that recommend avoiding ultra-processed foods.

[65] In 2022, Carlos Monteiro and Arne Astrup argued for and against the Nova classification in a series of three articles written in the style of an Oxford debate.

For example, although bread and cereals are classfied as UPFs, a large 2023 study published in The Lancet finds them inversely associated with cancer and cardiometabolic diseases in the European population (hazard ratio 0.97).

A bowl of Froot Loops ,a cereal, which is an ultra-processed cereal.
An aisle of ultra-processed foods in a supermarket
Label for Nova group 4, 'ultra-processed foods'
Nestlé is one of the world's major distributors of ultra-processed food, with a presence in 188 countries.
Ultra-processed food as a percentage of household purchases in some European countries, as of 2018