Items Tagged with 'ultra-processed foods'

A new Scoping Paper lays the groundwork for expert European Commission advisory bodies to deliver opinions on the scientific and ethical considerations that should underpin potential EU policies on ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

Acrylamide is a harmful contaminant that forms during thermal processing. An analysis of 17 years of EU RASFF data showed that UPFs accounted for 85 percent of related notifications. Cereals, baked goods, and potato chips were most frequently implicated.

Modeled after the “USDA Organic” label, AB 2244 would create a voluntary certification program through which qualifying manufacturers could display a “Non-Ultraprocessed Certified” seal on food packaging. Manufacturers could apply to accredited certification agents for authorization to use the seal. 

Federally defining UPFs could allow U.S. regulatory agencies to pursue specific policies for the category. The importance of processing versus nutrient content and formulation in causing diet-related chronic diseases, as well as the value of defining UPFs, has been heavily debated.

Two topics of increasing regulatory scrutiny—the "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS) rule and a federal definition of ultra-processed food (UPFs)—have seen some movement at the U.S. Government's Office of Management and Budget, signaling progress on the Trump administration's food policy agenda.
 

The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2025 would require health warning labels for certain foods and beverages, prohibit marketing of specified products to children, and expand federal nutrition research and education related to ultra-processed foods.

Going beyond the “ultra-processed foods” debate, the proposal, submitted by observer organization IFT, asks Codex to develop a framework to discern which foods are promoting chronic disease risk from those that are not, building upon existing Codex food categories and risk analysis methods.

This episode of Food Safety Five discusses new research linking sorbitol to fatty liver disease, studies suggesting potential health risks associated with both “natural” and artificial color additives, and a major collection of papers examining the health impacts, policy, and marketing practices behind ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

Tufts University researchers found that people who ate more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) had worse health outcomes, even after accounting for the overall nutritional quality of the foods. 

A collection of studies and editorials published in the American Journal of Public Health presents one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of ultra-processed food (UPF) as a public health crisis shaped not only by nutrition, but by corporate practices, political influence, and regulation failures.