Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are industrially manufactured food products, generally derived from natural food or synthesized from other organic compounds. The term is commonly associated with the Nova food classification system, which distinguishes UPFs from minimally processed and processed foods. UPFs are typically formulated to be convenient, shelf-stable, and hyperpalatable, often through the use of food additives such as preservatives, emulsifiers, colourings, and flavourings. UPFs typically undergo processes such as moulding, extrusion, hydrogenation, or frying. Ultra-processed foods first became ubiquitous in the global food systems starting in the 1980s, with the term "ultra-processed food" gaining prominence after a 2009 paper by Brazilian researchers as part of the Nova classification system. In the Nova system, UPFs include most bread and other mass-produced baked goods, frozen pizza, instant noodles, flavored yogurt, fruit and milk drinks, diet products, baby food, and most of what is considered junk food. The Nova definition considers ingredients, processing, and how products are marketed; nutritional content is not evaluated. As of 2024, research into the effects of UPFs is rapidly evolving. Epidemiological data suggest that consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with non-communicable diseases and obesity. A 2024 meta-analysis published in The BMJ identified 32 studies that associated UPF with negative health outcomes, though it also noted a possible heterogeneity among sub-groups of UPF. The specific mechanism of the effects was not clear. Since the 1990s, UPF sales have consistently increased or remained high in most countries. As of 2023, the United States and the United Kingdom lead the consumption rankings, with 58% and 57% of daily calories, respectively. Consumption varies widely across countries, ranging from 25% to 35%. Chile, France, Mexico, and Spain fall within this range, while Colombia, Italy, and Taiwan have consumption levels of 20% or less. Some authors have criticised the concept of "ultra-processed foods" as poorly defined, and the Nova classification system as too focused on the type rather than the amount of food consumed. 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. Other kinds of researchers have pointed to how ultraprocessed foods have beyond-human impacts, such as increases in food packaging, food waste, and other environmental impacts.
History Concerns about food processing have existed since at least the Industrial Revolution. However, the technical concept of ultra-processed food is more recent, with an origin in the work of Brazilian nutrition researcher Carlos Augusto Monteiro. A 2009 paper by Monteiro and others at the University of São Paulo described the Nova classification system. In the Nova system, UPFs include most bread and other mass-produced baked goods, frozen pizza, instant noodles, flavoured yogurt, fruit and milk drinks, diet products, baby food, and most of what is considered junk food. The Nova definition considers ingredients, processing, and how products are marketed; nutritional content is not evaluated. As of 2024, research into the effects of UPFs is rapidly evolving. A survey of systems for classifying levels of food processing in 2021 identified four 'defining themes':
Extent of change (from natural state) Nature of change (properties, ingredients added) Place of processing (where/by whom) Purpose of processing (why, essential/cosmetic)
Classification systems
NOVA Monteiro's team subsequently presented ultra-processed foods as a group in the Nova food classification system. The system focuses on food processing rather than foods types or nutrients. Nova categorizes foods into four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods. Nova is an open classification that refines its definitions gradually through scientific publications rather than through a central advisory board.
The most recent overview of Nova defines ultra-processed food as:Industrially manufactured food products made up of several ingredients (formulations) including sugar, oils, fats and salt (generally in combination and in higher amounts than in processed foods) and food substances of no or rare culinary use (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified starches and protein isolates). Group 1 [un- or minimally processed] foods are absent or represent a small proportion of the ingredients in the formulation. 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. Processes and ingredients here are designed to create highly profitable (low-cost ingredients, long shelf-life, emphatic branding), convenient (ready-to-(h)eat or to drink), tasteful alternatives to all other Nova food groups and to freshly prepared dishes and meals. Ultra-processed foods are further defined as measurably distinguishable from processed foods by ingredients "of no culinary use (varieties of sugars such as fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, 'fruit juice concentrates', invert sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose and lactose; modified starches; modified oils such as hydrogenated or interesterified oils; and protein sources such as hydrolysed proteins, soy protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein and 'mechanically separated meat') or of additives with cosmetic functions (flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents) in their list of ingredients." The Nova definition of ultra-processed food does not comment on the nutritional content of food and is not intended to be used for nutrient profiling.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
