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      Flavour, emulsifiers and colour are the most frequent markers to detect food ultra-processing in a UK food market analysis

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          Abstract

          Objective:

          To elucidate which markers of ultra-processing (MUP) and their combinations are best suited to detect ultra-processed food (UPF).

          Design:

          The study was based on the 206 food and 32 beverage items of the Oxford WebQ which encompass all major foods consumed in the UK. For each Oxford WebQ question, ingredient lists of up to ten matching different commercial products ( n 2146) were researched online using data from the two market leaders of groceries in the UK sorted by relevance (Tesco) and by top sellers (Sainsbury’s), respectively. According to the NOVA classification, sixty-five MUP were defined, and if the ingredient list of a food product was positive for at least one MUP, it was regarded as UPF. The percentage of UPF items containing specific MUP was calculated. In addition, all combinations of two to six different MUP were assessed concerning the percentage of identified UPF items.

          Setting:

          Cross-sectional analysis.

          Participants:

          None.

          Results:

          A total of 990 products contained at least one MUP and were, therefore, regarded as UPF. The most frequent MUP were flavour (578 items, 58·4 % of all UPF), emulsifiers (353 items, 35·7 % of all UPF) and colour (262 items, 26·5 % of all UPF). Combined, these three MUP detected 79·2 % of all UPF products. Detection rate increased to 88·4 % of all UPF if ingredient lists were analysed concerning three additional MUP, that is, fibre, dextrose and firming agent.

          Conclusions:

          Almost 90 % of all UPF items can be detected by six MUP.

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          Most cited references37

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          Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

          Carlos A. Monteiro, Geoffrey Cannon, Renata B. Levy … (2019)
          The present commentary contains a clear and simple guide designed to identify ultra-processed foods. It responds to the growing interest in ultra-processed foods among policy makers, academic researchers, health professionals, journalists and consumers concerned to devise policies, investigate dietary patterns, advise people, prepare media coverage, and when buying food and checking labels in shops or at home. Ultra-processed foods are defined within the NOVA classification system, which groups foods according to the extent and purpose of industrial processing. Processes enabling the manufacture of ultra-processed foods include the fractioning of whole foods into substances, chemical modifications of these substances, assembly of unmodified and modified food substances, frequent use of cosmetic additives and sophisticated packaging. Processes and ingredients used to manufacture ultra-processed foods are designed to create highly profitable (low-cost ingredients, long shelf-life, emphatic branding), convenient (ready-to-consume), hyper-palatable products liable to displace all other NOVA food groups, notably unprocessed or minimally processed foods. A practical way to identify an ultra-processed product is to check to see if its list of ingredients contains at least one item characteristic of the NOVA ultra-processed food group, which is to say, either food substances never or rarely used in kitchens (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated or interesterified oils, and hydrolysed proteins), or classes of additives designed to make the final product palatable or more appealing (such as flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents).
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            The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing.

            Carlos Augusto Monteiro, Geoffrey Cannon, Jean-Claude Moubarac … (2018)
            Given evident multiple threats to food systems and supplies, food security, human health and welfare, the living and physical world and the biosphere, the years 2016-2025 are now designated by the UN as the Decade of Nutrition, in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For these initiatives to succeed, it is necessary to know which foods contribute to health and well-being, and which are unhealthy. The present commentary outlines the NOVA system of food classification based on the nature, extent and purpose of food processing. Evidence that NOVA effectively addresses the quality of diets and their impact on all forms of malnutrition, and also the sustainability of food systems, has now accumulated in a number of countries, as shown here. A singular feature of NOVA is its identification of ultra-processed food and drink products. These are not modified foods, but formulations mostly of cheap industrial sources of dietary energy and nutrients plus additives, using a series of processes (hence 'ultra-processed'). All together, they are energy-dense, high in unhealthy types of fat, refined starches, free sugars and salt, and poor sources of protein, dietary fibre and micronutrients. Ultra-processed products are made to be hyper-palatable and attractive, with long shelf-life, and able to be consumed anywhere, any time. Their formulation, presentation and marketing often promote overconsumption. Studies based on NOVA show that ultra-processed products now dominate the food supplies of various high-income countries and are increasingly pervasive in lower-middle- and upper-middle-income countries. The evidence so far shows that displacement of minimally processed foods and freshly prepared dishes and meals by ultra-processed products is associated with unhealthy dietary nutrient profiles and several diet-related non-communicable diseases. Ultra-processed products are also troublesome from social, cultural, economic, political and environmental points of view. We conclude that the ever-increasing production and consumption of these products is a world crisis, to be confronted, checked and reversed as part of the work of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and its Decade of Nutrition.
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              Ultra‐processed foods and the nutrition transition: Global, regional and national trends, food systems transformations and political economy drivers

              Phillip Baker, Priscila A. Machado, Thiago Santana Santos … (2020)
              Understanding the drivers and dynamics of global ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is essential, given the evidence linking these foods with adverse health outcomes. In this synthesis review, we take two steps. First, we quantify per capita volumes and trends in UPF sales, and ingredients (sweeteners, fats, sodium and cosmetic additives) supplied by these foods, in countries classified by income and region. Second, we review the literature on food systems and political economy factors that likely explain the observed changes. We find evidence for a substantial expansion in the types and quantities of UPFs sold worldwide, representing a transition towards a more processed global diet but with wide variations between regions and countries. As countries grow richer, higher volumes and a wider variety of UPFs are sold. Sales are highest in Australasia, North America, Europe and Latin America but growing rapidly in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. These developments are closely linked with the industrialization of food systems, technological change and globalization, including growth in the market and political activities of transnational food corporations and inadequate policies to protect nutrition in these new contexts. The scale of dietary change underway, especially in highly populated middle-income countries, raises serious concern for global health.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Public Health Nutr
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Public Health Nutr
                Journal ID (publisher-id): PHN
                Title: Public Health Nutrition
                Publisher: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                ISSN (Print): 1368-9800
                ISSN (Electronic): 1475-2727
                Publication date (Print, pub): December 2023
                Publication date (Electronic, pub): 19 October 2023
                Volume: 26
                Issue: 12
                Pages: 3303-3310
                Affiliations
                [ 1 ]Institute of Nutritional Science, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen , Goethestr. 55, Giessen, Hessen 35390, Germany
                [ 2 ]Mathematical Institute, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen , Giessen, Germany
                [ 3 ]Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen , Giessen, Germany
                Author notes
                [* ] Corresponding author: Email nathalie.neumann@ 123456ernaehrung.uni-giessen.de

                GE and MF contributed equally to this work and are joint senior authors

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3247-1555
                Article
                Publisher Item ID: S1368980023002185
                DOI: 10.1017/S1368980023002185
                PMC ID: 10755427
                PubMed ID: 37855120
                SO-VID: 2cf81f77-19e8-49f1-a275-503f2a68c2fa
                Copyright © © The Authors 2023
                License:

                This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 22 December 2022
                Date revision received : 17 July 2023
                Date accepted : 09 October 2023
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 1, References: 50, Pages: 8
                Categories
                Subject: Research Paper
                Subject: Public Policies

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Public health
                Keywords: food additives,markers of ultra-processing,nova classification,ultra-processed food
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Public health
                Keywords: food additives, markers of ultra-processing, nova classification, ultra-processed food

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