Buyer beware

Ultra-processed foods make up an astonishing proportion of average daily energy intake, and they are harmful. Yet they meet food safety standards.

- Jennifer Bowden

Question:

Are there no rules or regulations controlling the sale of ultra-processed foods? Surely, if they are such a danger to health, as articles I have read in Nutrition and elsewhere suggest, they should be regulated. Does responsibility for buying such foods lie solely with the consumer?

Answer:

Greater consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, according to a review published in January in eClinical Medicine. Yet the portion sizes and popularity of these highly profitable food products continue to grow globally, leading to tangible effects on our health.

Ultra-processed foods contain few wholefood ingredients found in a kitchen pantry. Instead, they are formulations containing processed ingredients such as protein isolates, modified starches, flavours, colours, emulsifiers, added sugar, salt, fats, preservatives and other additives.

These ingredients somehow make them convenient, affordable, tasty and microbiologically safe. Examples include sugar-sweetened beverages, sweets, packaged snacks, instant soups and noodles, processed meat and various ready-to-eat/heated meals.

However, the ultra-processing method removes beneficial nutrients and bioactive compounds while adding non-beneficial nutrients and food additives. So, these foods tend to have less protein, dietary fibre, micronutrients and other biochemicals and instead are high in saturated fats, sugar and salt.