Health and environmental risks of Ultra-Processed Food

Unless you grow your own food, everything you eat has been processed to a lesser or greater extent. Ultra processed foods have become more prevalent in our diets despite the fact that they posse a serious risk to our health and the environment. The question to consider is, realistically, how unprocessed our diets can be?

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) poses a serious risk for both our health and the environment. The latest research has shown that it significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes. Equally, the lower ultra-processed food dietary content, the lower the environmental footprints of the diet consumed.

Decreasing UPF consumption should be considered for health and for environmental protection. However, it might be more difficult than it looks. As well as the well-known “junk food” there other ultra-processed meals that have been traditionally considered “healthier”. This would include some breakfast cereals, mass-produced bread, fruit-flavoured yogurts and milk substitutes.

What are ultra-processed foods?

According to the number of processes involved in its manufacturing, food can be divided into four types, ultra-processed; processed; unprocessed or minimally processed; and processed culinary ingredients.

🥫 Unprocessed foods – also known as whole foods- only undertake some basic primary processing to be edible. It would include fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, beans, pulses, and natural animal products such as fish. 

🥫 Minimally processed foods may have been dried, crushed, roasted, frozen, boiled or pasteurised, but contain no added ingredients. They also fall within the category of whole foods and include amongst others frozen fruits and vegetables, frozen fish, pure fruit juice, spices and dried cooking herbs. 

🥫 Processed foods undertake more elaborated processes because it is necessary for its production; as a way to enhance its taste; or to guarantee its safety. They would normally contain just two or three ingredients. This group would include bread, beer, wine, salted nuts, tinned fruit and vegs, and oats.

🥫Ultra-processed foods are products that have gone through multiple processes during manufacturing and contain numerous ingredients. That would be the case of Ice cream, ham, sausages, crisps, mass-produced bread, biscuits, carbonated drinks, fruit-flavoured yogurts, instant soups, heavily sugared and flavoured breakfast cereals, whisky, gin, and rum. This group would also include plant-based milk and other vegan substitutes.

🥫 Processed culinary ingredients, include oils, fats such as butter, vinegars, sugar and salt. These foods are not meant to be eaten alone, but usually with foods in group one. Every time that we add these ingredients to food, it results in processed food.

                        Nova chart of food ingredients

Ultra-Processed Foods and the environment

Food systems around the world generate one third of all greenhouse gas emissions. Although the largest amount comes from agriculture and land use, a significant part of the carbon is generated by the processing, refrigeration, packaging and transportation of food.

UFP relies on highly energy intensive processes, and plastic packaging. Therefore, it’s not surprising that ultra-processed foods are linked to more greenhouse gas emissions than other food groups.

According to a study on the environmental impact of UFP published by the Journal of Cleaner Production, this type of food accounted for:

🥫 17-39% of total diet-related energy use

🥫 36-45% of total diet-related biodiversity loss

🥫 Up to a third of total diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, land use and food waste

🥫 Up to a quarter of total diet-related water-use by adults in a number of high-income countries.

The key is on the food labels

UPF producers would use eye catching branding and marketing, along, with high availability, to generate overconsumption. More than half of the typical British daily diet is made up of ultra-processed food, more than any other country in Europe. Sometimes we don’t even realise what we are eating is actually a UPF.

In case of doubt, it’s essential to read the information on the labels of the products we buy. Some of the things to watch out for:

🥫A long list of ingredients

🥫 Thickeners, stabilisers, oils, concentrates and syrups are found in UPFs.

🥫Words like “organic”, “natural” or vegan don’t guarantee that is not a UPF.

Levels of sugar, fat and salt should appear in the label. The recommended levels are as follows:

Total fat

High: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g

Low: 3g of fat or less per 100g

Saturated fat

High: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g

Low: 1.5g of saturated fat or less per 100g

Sugars

High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g

Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g

Salt

High: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium)

Low: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)

Nutrition labels can also use colours to let people know if the food has high, medium or low amounts of fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt. Red means high; amber means medium; and green means low. UPF would show red on the label, which means the food is high in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugars. Try to limit the intake of foods and drinks with red labels.

The need to reduce UPF

Eating some processed food can be justified and not necessarily unhealthy. However, consumers should aim to reduce the amount of UPF that they have as part of their diets. Reading the labels and making sure that there aren’t any hidden ingredients; buying less convenient food and more fresh ingredients; and allowing more time to cook healthy meals would help reduce the overall amount of UPF.

Follow us on Instagram for advice on how to grow your own fresh food and healthy and sustainable recipes.