To increase knowledge about processed foods, the report Processed foods is launched today, in which Swedish researchers in food science and nutrition participate. One of the conclusions in the report is that the methodology for classifying so-called “ultra-processed” foods is not sufficiently developed and quality-assured to be used.
– Science, public health and the social debate would benefit if we stopped using flawed terms such as “ultra-processed” and instead described which foods are meant, says Cecilia Nälsén, researcher at Örebro University.
The report Processed foods is written by researchers in food science and nutrition at several Swedish universities*. The purpose of the report is to compile facts about processing with a focus on food processes, classification systems, health effects and processing impact on nutrient content and bioavailability.
In the report, it appears that during the 21st century several classification systems have been developed with the aim of grouping foodstuffs according to the degree of processing or processing. The classification systems have been criticized by the research community for being non-specific and unsystematic. One of the systems is NOVA, which is where the term “ultra-processed” comes from and which, despite serious scientific flaws, has received widespread media coverage. Several researchers have directed criticism at NOVA because it does not reflect the degree of processing but is a mixture of different and sometimes irrelevant factors.
– The term “ultra-processed” only appears in classification systems and is not an established term in food science research. Our report shows that there are too many ambiguities with the term and that it risks confusing and creating anxiety instead of being useful for consumers or researchers, says Cecilia Nälsén.
The report states that scientific studies using the controversial classification systems show that certain foods classified as “ultra-processed” increase the risk of several diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. But the studies have been criticized for being unclear because it is not possible to determine whether the connection is due to the processing itself or to the nutritional composition of the products.
Some foods classified as “ultra-processed” are nutrient poor and high in energy with a high content of sugar, salt and saturated fat. In order to reduce the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, according to the Swedish Food Agency’s dietary advice, we should eat less of this type of food. But other foods that the NOVA system also classifies as “ultra-processed” are healthy and ones that, according to the same dietary advice, we should eat more of.
– The question of what and how we should eat to live healthily is extremely important. Ordinary consumers trust the scientific community to help them make the right choices and therefore research must be based on a solid, scientific foundation. But much of the research that is disseminated in the media today unfortunately does not. When a concept becomes so broad and unclear that it includes everything from breakfast cereals and wholemeal bread to vegetarian ready meals and sausages, it becomes scientifically unusable in practice. Researchers who start from these classification systems and their flawed methodology run the risk of arriving at conclusions that do not measure up scientifically. There are already today lots of misunderstandings about food and health and the research world should not contribute to increasing the confusion, says Cecilia Nälsén.
Processed food is food that has undergone some form of processing, for example heat, drying or marinating. For a long time, we have been eating processed foods prepared at home, such as mushrooms and jam. Industrial production of food on a large scale is also nothing new. Food processing can increase the nutritional value of the food, but can also lead to the loss of nutrients or the formation of harmful substances.
Innovations in Food (& Beverage) Technology is a quarterly magazine distributed globally both in Print and Digital formats. www.innovationsfood.com. Twitter: @Innovfoodtech. Instagram: @innovationsinfoodtechnology. Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/terry-prior52
