"We all know that the modern American food system relies heavily on ultra-processed ingredients. But if you aren't careful, these processed foods can end up being a pretty significant part of your diet. And while thinking of ultra-processed foods probably has you envisioning items like big bags of Doritos chips and sleeves of Oreo cookies, new research has shown a surprising top source for ultra-processed calories in Americans' diets: sandwiches."
"While it can be tough to put a finger on exactly what "ultra-processed food" really means, the CDC defines it as "industrial formulations of processed foods that typically [contain] unnatural additives, such as colorings or emulsifiers." Under that definition, you can't help but look differently at those blocks of perfectly uniform lunch meat, the individually wrapped slices of cheese food, and the loaf of sandwich bread packed full of things like sodium stearoyl lactylate and distilled monoglycerides that go in your lunch box every day."
Modern American diets rely heavily on ultra-processed ingredients, and sandwiches have become a leading source of those calories. A 2025 CDC study identified sandwiches — including burgers — as the highest contributors of ultra-processed calories, because many people eat sandwiches frequently and many sandwich components are industrially processed. The CDC defines ultra-processed foods as industrial formulations that typically contain unnatural additives like colorings or emulsifiers. Common sandwich ingredients include uniform lunch meat, individually wrapped cheese food, and sandwich bread containing additives such as sodium stearoyl lactylate and distilled monoglycerides. Nutrition science has a history of revising guidance on foods, as with eggs.
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