Written for www.qualityfoodawards.com
One of my first projects as a product developer was to reduce the cost of the coating on a choc ice. After weeks of replacing cocoa with wacky ingredients (carob, cassia and more) I delivered my report to the client. Executive Summary: your chocolate coating tastes bad now and everything we have tried has made it taste worse. The following year they replaced the coating with real chocolate, increased the rsp by 10p and dramatically increased their sales. Evidence that the black arts of the food technologist have their limits. Soon after the choc-ice project I read Maurice Hansen’s E For Additives which prompted my departure for the calmer waters of natural and organic foods.
So the recent public interest in Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) seems familiar. The term UPF was coined in 2009 by researchers at the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil who classified foods into four groups according to a framework they termed NOVA:
- Unprocessed or minimally processed foods
- Processed culinary ingredients
- Processed foods
- Ultra Processed Foods
Ultra-processed foods are typically created by series of industrial techniques and processes such as extrusion. They frequently contain ingredients of low nutritional value as well as additives designed to add colour, texture or flavour. Examples include carbonated drinks, confectionery and savoury snacks. We have always processed foods: bread, cheese, yoghurt and pasta are all Group 3. Few people would advocate life without these staples. So why are we getting so concerned about a sub-set of processed foods, those in Group 4?
In the UK we get about 57% of our calorie intake from UPFs so it is not helpful to demonise such a large part of the food sector, Headlines like ‘Ultra -processed foods linked to 32 harmful effects to health’ (The Guardian 28.02.24) have spread alarm. High-profile critics like the writer Dr Chris van Tulluken cannot even manage a coherent definition of what makes a UPF. IN his book Ultra Processed People he claims that any food wrapped in plastic and containing one unfamiliar ingredient is a UPF. Unsurprisingly the public are confused, with the EIT Food Consumer Observatory finding that only 22% of respondents regard chocolate as a UPF.
Here is what Eric Robinson, Professor in Psychology at the University of Liverpool wrote in The Conversation in response to van Tulluken’s claims that UPFs are linked to more deaths than tobacco and are the number one cause of early death globally.
“Ultra-processed foods haven’t been shown to be the largest cause of deaths globally and no scientific study has ever found this. I believe this bold but misleading claim appears to be a misinterpretation of research which suggests that poor diet is a leading cause of death. Most deaths attributed to poor diet are due to factors such as not eating enough fruit and veg, oily fish or wholegrains. Nor is there strong evidence that whether a food is ultra-processed or not is what determines how it may affect your health.
Many studies have shown that people whose diets are high in ultra-processed foods have poorer health compared to those whose diets contain fewer ultra-processed foods. People from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be victims of accidental death – as are people who have worse mental health. We also know that people from poorer backgrounds or who have worse mental health often eat more ultra-processed food.
A study can measure a person’s income, but the many ways in which living in poverty or having worse mental health can damage physical health are very difficult to measure with any accuracy. They therefore may be examples of confounding factors that make ultra-processed food appear to predict worsening health.”
So whilst Robinson does not exonerate UPFs, nor does he condemn them completely.
The debate over UPFs is already having an impact in the marketplace. The Grocer claims that a million people per month are changing their food choices to avoid UPFs. At least one UK supermarket is asking private-label suppliers to take out any ingredients which sound `’weird`’.
But to see one sector where being an UPF is no barrier to success, check out the ingredients list of a typical plant-based vegan burger. Hydroxy methyl cellulose anyone?