People want to avoid ultra-processed foods. But experts struggle to define them

"And in recent years, people who want to make Americans healthier across the ideological spectrum are targeting ultra-processed foods, which make up the majority of what Americans eat. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said these foods are "poisoning" Americans and blames them for the chronic disease epidemic. California last month became the first U.S. state to ban certain ultra-processed foods from school lunches."

"The term ultra-processed food was developed by Brazilian researchers to describe the level of processing foods undergo. They came up with the NOVA classification system. On one end of the spectrum, there's unprocessed or minimally processed foods such as an apple or frozen peas. On the other end, there's ultra-processed foods, which are made from manufactured ingredients and contain additives like artificial colors, flavors, emulsifiers and preservatives."

"'It's about additives and processing methods that aren't used in home cooking,' says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, head of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. He says nearly 100 observational studies and three different randomized controlled trials have linked overconsumption of ultra-processed foods to a host of health harms including an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and even depression."

The American diet is dominated by ultra-processed foods, which make up the majority of what people eat. Ultra-processed foods are defined by the NOVA system as manufactured products containing additives such as artificial colors, flavors, emulsifiers and preservatives. Observational studies and randomized trials have linked overconsumption to Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and depression. Policymakers and activists across the ideological spectrum are targeting these foods, prompting actions like California's school-lunch ban and federal efforts to craft a definition. Public surveys show many shoppers try to avoid ultra-processed foods, but nutrition experts lack consensus on a definition that effectively guides healthful policy.

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