Ultraprocessed foods: what they are and how to identify them

Non-ultra-processed food groups

Minimally processed foods, that together with unprocessed foods make up NOVA group 1, are unprocessed foods altered by industrial processes such as removal of inedible or unwanted parts, drying, crushing, grinding, fractioning, roasting, boiling, pasteurization, refrigeration, freezing, placing in containers, vacuum packaging or non-alcoholic fermentation. None of these processes add salt, sugar, oils or fats, or other food substances to the original food. Their main aim is to extend the life of grains (cereals), legumes (pulses), vegetables, fruits, nuts, milk, meat and other foods, enabling their storage for longer use, and often to make their preparation easier or more diverse.

NOVA group 2 is of processed culinary ingredients. These are substances obtained directly from group 1 foods or from nature, like oils and fats, sugar and salt. They are created by industrial processes such as pressing, centrifuging, refining, extracting or mining, and their use is in the preparation, seasoning and cooking of group 1 foods.

NOVA group 3 is of processed foods. These are industrial products made by adding salt, sugar or other substance found in group 2 to group 1 foods, using preservation methods such as canning and bottling, and, in the case of breads and cheeses, using non-alcoholic fermentation. Food processing here aims to increase the durability of group 1 foods and make them more enjoyable by modifying or enhancing their sensory qualities.

Ultra-processed foods are formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, that result from a series of industrial processes (hence ‘ultra-processed’).

Processes enabling the manufacture of ultra-processed foods involve several steps and different industries. It starts with the fractioning of whole foods into substances that include sugars, oils and fats, proteins, starches and fibre. These substances are often obtained from a few high-yield plant foods (corn, wheat, soya, cane or beet) and from puréeing or grinding animal carcasses, usually from intensive livestock farming. Some of these substances are then submitted to hydrolysis, or hydrogenation, or other chemical modifications. Subsequent processes involve the assembly of unmodified and modified food substances with little if any whole food using industrial techniques such as extrusion, moulding and pre-frying. Colours, flavours, emulsifiers and other additives are frequently added to make the final product palatable or hyper-palatable. Processes end with sophisticated packaging usually with synthetic materials.

Sugar, oils and fats, and salt, used to make processed foods, are often ingredients of ultra-processed foods, generally in combination. Additives that prolong product duration, protect original properties and prevent proliferation of micro-organisms may be used in both processed and ultra-processed foods, as well as in processed culinary ingredients, and, infrequently, in minimally processed foods.

Ingredients that are characteristic of ultra-processed foods can be divided into food substances of no or rare culinary use and classes of additives whose function is to make the final product palatable or often hyper-palatable (‘cosmetic additives’). Food substances of no or rare culinary use, and used only in the manufacture of ultra-processed foods, include varieties of sugars (fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, ‘fruit juice concentrates’, invert sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose, lactose), modified oils (hydrogenated or interesterified oils) and protein sources (hydrolysed proteins, soya protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein and ‘mechanically separated meat’). Cosmetic additives, also used only in the manufacture of ultra-processed foods, are flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents. These classes of additives disguise undesirable sensory properties created by ingredients, processes or packaging used in the manufacture of ultra-processed foods, or else give the final product sensory properties especially attractive to see, taste, smell and/or touch.

Ultra-processed foods include carbonated soft drinks; sweet or savoury packaged snacks; chocolate, candies (confectionery); ice cream; mass-produced packaged breads and buns; margarines and other spreads; cookies (biscuits), pastries, cakes and cake mixes; breakfast ‘cereals’; pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes; poultry and fish ‘nuggets’ and ‘sticks’, sausages, burgers, hot dogs and other reconstituted meat products; powdered and packaged ‘instant’ soups, noodles and desserts; and many other products.


www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/ultraprocessed-foods-what-they-are-and-how-to-identify-them/E6D744D714B1FF09D5BCA3E74D53A185