Ultra-processed foods

Food processing is vital to feed a global population of 8 billion people. However, recent research suggests that high levels of food processing may be detrimental to health, although the mechanisms, which are likely to be many and varied, behind any adverse effects are uncertain. The NOVA classification system classifies foods according to their level and purpose of processing rather than by their nutrient composition, with ultra-processed foods (UPF) being the most processed. UPF consumption has been associated with adverse health outcomes in many observational studies but the extent to which this is explained by the generally high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar of UPF foods is not clear. This Spotlight on Ultra-Processed Foods brings together a number of articles published recently in Nutrition Bulletin looking at different aspects of the topic. Lockyer et al, 2023 report on the outcomes of a Roundtable discussing the usefulness and potential for confusion of the UPF concept for consumer communication, while Barrett et al, 2023 look at examples of misalignment between classifications based on nutrient content and processing and quantify proportions of healthy, processed foods and unhealthy, unprocessed foods and the implications of such misalignment for any combined labelling systems. Four papers explore patterns of UPF consumption in different groups in Brazil and Argentina (Belchor et al, 2022, Zapata et al, 2023, Santos et al, 2022 and Roberto et al, 2022). Finally, an editorial by Forde (2023) discusses the way forward and the importance of research into specific, individual, potential mechanisms so that their relative influence can be understood independently as well as collectively.