by Anne MacLennan
A monolithic global industrial food system has emerged since the 1980s according to this paper. Western food culture is dominated by packaged, ready-to-consume products, which are now rapidly displacing traditional dietary patterns in lower income countries too. As the extent and purpose of food processing has changed, the global food system is itself now causing nutrition-related diseases including obesity and diabetes.
Most food is now processed in some way, so the NOVA classification (2009) grouped foods and food products based on the extent and purpose of the industrial processes applied to preserve, extract, modify or create them.
= food and drink
Below: fruit flavour popsicles; breakfast ‘cereals’ ; reconstituted meat product; soft drinks.
= ultra-processed products formulated from industrial ingredients, containing little or no intact foods.
Source: World Nutrition journal
The ultra-processed group is made up of snacks, drinks, ready meals and many other products created mostly or entirely from substances extracted from foods or derived from food constituents, with little if any intact food. They often contain flavours, colours and other additives to imitate or intensify the sensory qualities of foods or culinary preparations made from foods.
The formulation and ingredients of these products make them highly convenient (ready-to-consume), highly attractive (hyper-palatable), highly profitable (low cost ingredients), and also highly competitive with foods that are naturally ready to consume (e.g. an apple) and freshly-prepared dishes and meals. They are intrinsically nutrient-unbalanced, unhealthy, tend to be consumed in great amounts, and should be avoided!