> “About 60% of the calories in Americans’ diets are from ultra-processed foods,” says Schmidt, who spoke at a UC Berkeley event in May. “In the mid-’80s, when we see ultra-processed foods starting to scale up in the American food supply, we also see obesity starting to really rise. That is the moment when some of the largest food companies are owned by tobacco companies.”
A reminder here that while there's an important directional claim behind stuff like this, "ultra-processed food" is an extremely silly category that does violence to the argument.
UPFs include:
* Whole wheat bread (most supermarket bread is stabilized, which you might not like aesthetically, but it isn't doing anything to your health)
* Almost all yogurt products, flavored or otherwise
* Literally all baby formula
* Any kind of plant-based meat replacement
* Many supermarket hummus brands (again: stabilizers and emulsifiers)
You get to "ultra-processed" simply by making things shelf-stable, and shelf-stability isn't an actual health problem (kind of the opposite).
You get to problematic through hyperpalatability, which is another, different target of modern food engineering. Hyperpalatable foods are almost always UPFs, but the other direction doesn't hold at all.
Yes and pretty much all baby formula is bad. Vegetable oil is often the #1 ingredient and is not even close to having the same density as breast milk. It can be life saving, but it’s not an example of UPF being generally good.
Also supermarket whole wheat bread is very different than real bread if you look at the ingredients. It’s more like bread adjacent.
> most supermarket bread is stabilized, which you might not like aesthetically, but it isn't doing anything to your health
That's a large assertion to make without evidence. Personally, I'm suspicious of all antimicrobial agents' effects on gut microbiota and the knock-on effects on health.
Shelf-stable hummus and Doritos can both be "ultra-processed", but that doesn't tell you much about why one might encourage overconsumption. Hyperpalatability seems much closer to the actual claim the article is trying to make.
With the exception, maybe, of whole wheat bread (it seems they sometimes add extra wheat gluten, technically an additive but yes, silly), these all seem right to me? Especially meat replacements, they're often incredibly highly processed.
Yoghurt is one you seem to be mistaken on. Yoghurt can be considered group 1, it just often contains thickeners, sweeteners, flavourings, etc. Especially if low-fat.
You're right of course that hyperpalatability is a bigger problem. And you don't have to agree that UPFs are something you need to avoid. But I don't think that makes it a silly category.
> You get to "ultra-processed" simply by making things shelf-stable, and shelf-stability isn't an actual health problem (kind of the opposite).
I would point out that many whole foods are generally shelf-stable (over at least weeks, if not months) without requiring the introduction of chemical stabilizers that don't otherwise "belong."
Chemical stabilizers are generally needed for shelf stability in ultra-processed foods, because of one of the other defining characteristics of ultra-processed foods: their matrix has been disrupted (or constructed anew) such that the food is now highly labile (biochemical term: "labile organic matter"), i.e. very easy to break down into nutrients. Which applies not only to you breaking such foods down in your gut, but also to bacteria and fungi breaking these foods down on the shelf.
And as it so happens, because these foods are labile, any such nutrients that do come from breaking down the food, come very quickly. Labile carbohydrates are high-glycemic-index insulin-spiking carbohydrates. Labile fats are atherosclerosis-inducing fats. Etc.
Your body evolved to process (metabolize, remove from circulation, etc.) metabolic inputs in an environment where most available foods were the opposite of labile (a.k.a. recalcitrant organic matter). So most meals would give a slow/gentle level of metabolic throughput; with rare spikes of higher throughput from the rare natural labile food, and then plenty of low-throughput time to recover from such events. Your body didn't evolve to be able to deal with getting high-throughput metabolic input spikes from every meal.
And this is why the the presence of chemical stabilizers in a food is actually a very helpful criterion in the definition of "ultra-processed food"! The necessity of stabilization tells you that the food is likely labile (as otherwise, why would they have needed to stabilize it?) — and therefore is unhealthy to be consumed on a continuous basis. (Unless it's milk and you're a baby.)
But note that the stabilizer isn't itself the problem. Bread is ultra-processed even without a stabilizer, because bread is a labile food with weak matrix integrity. The bread you bake at home is ultra-processed; you're the one who ultra-processed it!
The "rules" for UPFs don't assert home-baked bread as a UPF, but that's because the point of the UPF designation is to label commercial foods, and more specifically, to draw a hard-line boundary based on objectively-measurable characteristics that industry players can't argue with or lie about. And lability / matrix integrity, while quantifiable, isn't something with a clear objective way to reduce it to a single number†; so any definition of UPF based on lability would result in endless arguments/pushback from industry players insisting the FDA is "calculating it wrong."
But in your own personal life, the definition of "ultra-processed" you should be carrying around in your head and evaluating foods by, should be one that includes lability.
† (Instead, lability is a high-dimensional measurement of how efficiently any single digestive enzyme, and/or any specific combination of enzymes, and/or any enzyme paired with a cofactor [e.g. a bile salt], will break apart the given food's matrix to release bio-accessible nutrients.)
my wife describes ultra processed food as food that is basically pre digested for you before you eat it, which seems like a pretty good definition to me
Maybe true as long as you make it the same way at home as the ultra processed version from the store. But you usually can't since you don't have the machinery.
Homemade wheat bread made of just wheat/water/salt is an entirely different thing from most "whole wheat bread" in the food industry.
That's the point. Homemade white bread and store bought have the same nutritional profile. They're both hyper-palatable. The super fine milling of the flour and removal of the bran makes it super tasty and enables the body to convert it into glucose super quick.
A whole-grain bread made with stone milled flour is going to be far healthier for you than steel ground white bread even if the brown bread is technically UPF and the white bread is home made.
The true "natural" alternative would be a cracked-wheat porridge. That's about as far as you can get from hyper-palatable.
>Japan has ultra processed foods and they don't seem to have an obesity epidemic.
Most of that's from a much stronger national guidance on weight control + societal expectations, but IIRC they also are gaining weight. Their ultra processed foods (in the salt and preservative sense) are also why they have one of the highest rates of stomach cancer.
> They also don't have a marijuana epidemic.
Not sure if I'd categorize the US as in a marijuana epidemic (and this is coming from someone who doesn't consume it and dislikes being around it) but even if we were, the states with the highest marijuana usage (west coast and NE) and the states with the highest obesity rates (deep south) are almost non-overlapping circles. If we're tying a drug to be obesity rates I'd be much more willing to believe it's the American propensity to chug large amounts of cheap 100-120 calories a pop beer.
Japan is probably evidence that the surrounding food culture matters at least as much as the existence of UPFs. You can sell plenty of processed food without getting the same outcome if portion sizes, eating habits, school meals, and daily activity are different. The marijuana comparison feels like a non sequitur, though.
Ultra processed food is about 50-60% of American calories, versus 38% in Japan [1]. Also try visiting a Japanese 7-11, there's tons of fresh-made food options with vegetables and such.
Japan is one of the countries where people smoke literally everywhere. As for marijuana, it's highly illegal, it's one of the remnants of the colonial history there as everything apart from smoking and drinking is considered evil due to how China was devastated with opium.
Maybe 20 years ago, not so much today. There are a few places around town and a few indoor restaurants where public smoking is still permitted, but this is no longer true in most public spaces. Not on train platforms, not indoors in the vast majority of public spaces, it's just not that common and the number of smokers in Japan has significantly diminished over the last several decades.
There are 'smoking boxes' on some train platforms, but I rarely see those in use by more than a few people out of the several hundred who may be waiting. Marijuana is also 'highly' illegal but also not exactly hard to find for people who are 'hip' and it's also not aggressively enforced, much like speeding.
Also, Japan doesn't actually have a 'colonial history' having never been colonized by another nation.
I'm thinking you have just heard about Japan by rough description?
> Also, Japan doesn't actually have a 'colonial history' having never been colonized by another nation.
It was never colonized but I've often heard it talked about in a similar way due to the effects of the Commodore Perry and the post WWII occupation (i.e. see their infamous pornography laws), as well as neighboring affects from China's colonial history.
The infamous 'anti-pornography laws' actually predate Perry by a significant period of time. Those were a Tokugawa era law originally. Post WWII occupation has had very little actual impact on Japanese culture, no matter how impactful the occupiers think they were.
It's the first time I've seen this put forward, I thought the effects of occupation were obvious and undeniable. To me at least there is a clear influence in art/music/cinema, technology, and food. Though over time, it fuses to the point of being its own thing.
I don't see this mentioned in the transcript. What is the basis for you mentioning it? Seems like a weird thing to throw in without explanation. I say this as someone that does not consume cannabis, btw, so this is not a defense of cannabis usage.
Japan may come up a lot in discussions about longevity, but doesn't Japan have a drinking culture that is very unhealthy? It's pretty well established that alcohol has a serious impact on health in numerous ways. There is even a condition called alcohol-related dementia.
The concept of 'ultra-processed foods' in Japan has some significant differences from the rest of the world. The food safety regulations are actually quite strict. What follows is a list of some synthetic materials found in US foods which are PROHIBITED in Japanese consumables. So the statement 'Japan has ultra processed foods and they don't seem to have an obesity epidemic.' is a misunderstanding of what food might look like American Ultra-Processed food and is missing any of these toxic ingredients.
Azodicarbonamide (ADA) : Dough-conditioning/bleaching agent; oxidizes flour proteins to improve elasticity and whiteness. Currently found in some supermarket sandwich breads and hamburger/hot dog buns.
Potassium Bromate (KBrO₃) : Oxidizing agent that strengthens gluten structure and increases dough rise/volume. Classified a possible human carcinogen (IARC 2B); banned in the EU, Canada, and UK; California has banned it starting 2027. Still federally permitted in the US in trace residual amounts. Regional and bulk/wholesale bakery bread products.
Chlorine Gas / Chlorine Dioxide : Bleaching and maturing agents for wheat flour. Currently used in "bleached flour," a listed ingredient in many cake-mix and biscuit-mix products.
Ammonium Chloride (synthetic) : Yeast nutrient/dough conditioner that accelerates fermentation. Used in some commercial bread and cracker doughs as a processing aid.
2. Synthetic Antioxidants & Preservatives
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) / Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) ; Synthetic antioxidants preventing fat/oil rancidity. NTP lists BHA as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen." Some current chewing gum and packaged-snacks.
Tert-Butylated Hydroquinone (TBHQ) : Synthetic antioxidant preservative used at very low levels to extend shelf life of oils and fried/processed foods. Pop-Tarts (Kellanova) and Little Debbie snack cakes.
Propylparaben : Antifungal preservative. EU treats it as effectively banned over endocrine-disruption concerns; California has banned it in food starting 2027; it remains FDA-permitted and is under an active FDA chemical-safety review opened in 2024. Advocacy groups (EWG) have specifically petitioned makers like Entenmann's and Sara Lee to remove it.
Thiodipropionic Acid & Dilauryl Thiodipropionate : Synergist antioxidants used alongside BHA/BHT in fats and shortening.
Stearyl Citrate : Antioxidant/chelating agent in margarines and oil-based dressings.
Ethoxyquin : Antioxidant/color stabilizer, originally developed as a pesticide; used to preserve color in ground spices. Bulk and store-brand ground paprika and chili powder spice blends.
Stannous Chloride : Antioxidant/color-retention agent for canned foods. Canned white asparagus.
3. Emulsifiers, Stabilizers & Texturizers
Polysorbate 60 & Polysorbate 80 : Emulsifiers for oil/water blending in baked goods, ice cream, and creamers. Cool Whip (Kraft) and Coffee-Mate liquid/powdered creamers.
Synthetic Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC / Cellulose Gum) : Thickener/stabilizer preventing ice-crystal formation. Common ingredient in many mainstream ice creams (store-brand and name-brand alike — check the specific carton) and low-fat salad dressings.
Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate (SAIB) : Weighting agent keeping citrus flavor oils suspended. Used in some citrus-flavored sports drinks and sodas currently on the market.
Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate (DSS / Docusate Sodium) : Wetting agent improving dispersibility of powders. Used in instant cocoa/hot chocolate mix formulations.
Oxystearin Anti-crystallizing agent keeping liquid vegetable oils clear under refrigeration. Used in some refrigerated bottled vegetable/salad oils, typically store-brand.
4. Synthetic Colorants
Titanium Dioxide : White opacifying/color additive. Banned as a food additive in the EU (2022); still FDA-approved federally (up to 1% by weight), under an open FDA safety review since 2023, and subject to a pending California ban effective 2027. Per FDA data cited by food-safety reporting, over 4,300 candy products currently contain it, along with many white frostings, powdered coffee creamers, and donut glazes.
FD&C Citrus Red No. 2 : Colorant with one narrow legal use: coloring the skins of Florida oranges (not the flesh, not general food products). Currently applied to some Florida orange peels sold in grocery stores.
Fast Green FCF (FD&C Green No. 3) : Synthetic green dye, low usage volume relative to other approved dyes. Currently found in some mint-flavored candies and canned green vegetable products with added color.
5. Anti-Caking & Coating Agents
Synthetic Magnesium Silicate (Synthetic Talc) : Anti-caking agent absorbing moisture in powders. Used in some current powdered spice blends and pre-shredded cheese as an anti-caking coating; brand presence varies enough that I'd want you to check the specific product's label rather than take a brand name from me.
Sodium Ferrocyanide (Yellow Prussiate of Soda) : Anti-caking agent in table and processed salt. Present in some current table salt formulations, including certain Morton's products, and in salt used within processed snack seasoning blends.
Modified Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Coatings : Glossy protective film coating on high-sugar snack pieces. Yogurt-covered raisins and pretzels.
Synthetic Petroleum Waxes : Food-grade paraffin/microcrystalline waxes for candy shine and moisture barrier. Hard candies and chocolate-coated candy shells.
6. Chelating & Minor Functional Agents
Calcium Disodium EDTA : Chelating agent binding trace metals to prevent oxidation/discoloration. Kraft Mayo and Miracle Whip-type sandwich spreads, and in canned beans and some canned soft drinks.
Zinc Lactate : Zinc salt used for anti-cavity/breath-related function rather than classic preservation. Sugar-free chewing gums marketed for dental benefits (e.g., certain Trident and Orbit formulations)
7. Fortification Agents
Synthetic Iron Sources (Carbonyl Iron) : Reduced elemental iron powder fortifying "enriched" flour. Wonder Bread, most white sandwich breads, and in many fortified breakfast cereals.
8. Processing Solvents & Residues
Acetone : Industrial solvent used in extraction of some resins/oleoresins and fat/cocoa-butter processing; trace residues can remain.
Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane) : Solvent used for coffee/tea decaffeination via direct extraction. FDA permits a 10 ppm residual limit specifically for this food use. "Traditional process" decaffeinated coffees that don't specify "Swiss Water" or "CO2 process" on the label .
9. Agricultural & Livestock Inputs (Not Added Directly to Food , Present via Animal-Derived Ingredients)
Ractopamine : Beta-agonist fed to pigs and cattle before slaughter to increase lean muscle growth. Banned in the EU, China, and Russia; still FDA-approved for US livestock. Because it's a feed input rather than a processing additive, it never appears on any processed-food label.
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH/rBST) : Synthetic hormone used to increase dairy cow milk yield. Banned in the EU, Canada, and Japan; still FDA-approved in the US. Most major retailers and chains (Walmart, Kroger, Starbucks) now source rBST-free and label accordingly, so current use is concentrated in dairy supply chains that don't carry that label. Think about all the 'strawberry milk' and 'chocolate milk' drinks without this label.
So, no Japan does not have the same kinds of Ultra-Processed foods as the US, and for MANY other reasons doesn't have an obesity crisis.
They do have a functional educational system, and have plentiful availability of fresh fruits and vegetables within walking distance of nearly every citizen. The idea of US inner city 'fruit free' areas is perplexing in the extreme to their perceptions of "American Greatness."
I recently discovered just how much food engineering goes into products like potato chips and similar items, not only in the flavor, but also in the texture and even the sound it makes.
There's someone at the factory who basically spends their time eating samples from new batches to ensure they're exactly as expected.
Is Huel ultra processed food too? They promote themselves as healthy meals and I am long time subscriber. I keep telling myself that even if it is not like cooking from raw ingredients, it is still far from a greasy junk food at kebab shops and McDonalds.
Hyper-ultra-processed, yes. But, as others point out in these comments, a food's degree of processing doesn't determine its health value, although those two things are correlated.
Personally, my instincts would favor Huel over fast food, too. I'd be very interested in any study that tested this rigorously. Huel is far from anything "raw," but so long as all the nutritional components are still in there, one has to wonder if it's just as healthy.
Reading through this and thinking about the problem in a blame-free way leads me to see the tobacco companies as a through-line for product packaging optimization that transcends any specific use. "The first patented cigarette-making machine was invented by Juan Nepomuceno Adorno of Mexico in 1847." [0] This puts high volume manufacture of cigarettes right at the cusp of the second industrial revolution with improvements in "steel-making processes, mass production, assembly lines, electrical grid systems, large-scale manufacture of machine tools, and use of advanced machinery in steam-powered factories." [1]
Blame free works with humans where you assume good intent.
It's harmful and dangerous with corporations with a proven history of lying and disregard for human lives and well being. Especially ones with a record of developing and optimizing addictive products.
any more "ethical" tobacco company got out competed. result: blame tobacco companies that survived.
People still smoke. any lies the tobacco companies sold to the public were either so old that few alive heard them, or believed them when they were told.
> Buying into the food industry also facilitated the tobacco companies in applying the knowledge, skills, and strategies developed from their tobacco businesses to another business domain in ultraprocessed foods and beverages. For example, Philip Morris applied its aggressive marketing tactics developed from its tobacco businesses to market ultraprocessed foods to the US public. Furthermore, US tobacco companies and their food companies were systematically involved with developing hyper-palatable foods, which have elevated addictive properties.
>Tobacco-owned foods were 29% more likely to be classified as fat and sodium hyper-palatable foods (HPF) and 80% more likely to be classified as carbohydrate and sodium HPF than foods that were not tobacco-owned between 1988 and 2001 (P-values = 0.005–0.009).
> Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds led the transition to sweetened beverages in 1963 when it purchased Hawaiian Punch from Pacific Hawaiian Products Company, according to the documents. The beverage previously had been promoted to adults as a cocktail mixer, but R.J. Reynolds sought to beef up the drink’s “Punchy” mascot – a counterpart to the “Joe Camel” cartoon character the company used to promote cigarettes – and featured it on toys, schoolbook covers, comics, tumblers, clothing and TV commercials. Punchy became the “best salesman the beverage ever had,” according to tobacco industry documents.
> In the ’60s and ’70s, the company conducted taste tests with children and mothers to evaluate sweetness, colors and flavors for Hawaiian Punch product line extensions. The children’s preferences were prioritized, the authors noted.
> By 1983, R.J. Reynolds introduced the nation’s first juice box, marketed as a “handy little carton that comes with its very own straw.” This innovation was largely responsible for a 34 percent jump in sales, according to industry documents.
> At the end of 1988, Philip Morris Companies purchased Kraft for $12.9 billion. In 1989, Kraft merged with Philip Morris's General Foods unit—makers of Oscar Mayer meats, Maxwell House coffee, Jell-O gelatin, Budget Gourmet frozen dinners, Entenmann's baked goods, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light and Tang powdered beverage mixes, Post Cereals, Shake 'n Bake flavored coatings and numerous other packaged foods—as Kraft General Foods. Its aggressive product development was reversed after the merger, as it became slow in addressing issues on its product lines due to its size, and also company politics.[4]
> In 2000, Philip Morris (renamed Altria in 2003) acquired Nabisco Holdings for $18.9 billion and merged the company with Kraft Foods the same year.[212][4] Also in 2000, the company acquired Balance Bar.[213] In 2001, Philip Morris sold 280 million Kraft shares via the third-largest IPO of all time, retaining an 88.1% stake in the company.
Interesting, but I wouldn't oversimplify this to one cause. Home cooking of meals and making of lemonade/fruit punch used to be a norm. Society chose to move towards taking a lazy way out with microwave dinners and takeouts. On the other hand, Asian countries have healthier fresh made bento boxes in convenience stores so it's not time saving alone. At the end of the day, companies deliver what consumers want and try to discern demand, what else are they supposed to do?
Okay... Pop Tarts are also Kellogg's, not a tobacco company. But let me pick some other examples.
Eggo waffles predate RJ Reynolds getting into this by 10 years.
Twinkies were introduced in the 1930s.
I'm not defending ultra-processed foods nor tobacco companies. I'm just saying the authors have a major blind spot if they think the concept or popularity of ultra-processed foods started in the 1960s.
The Twinkie of 1940 is very different from the Twinkie of 2000. Lots of old and sort of OK things got corrupted when pulled into the corporate-Zerg-slime
> “About 60% of the calories in Americans’ diets are from ultra-processed foods,” says Schmidt, who spoke at a UC Berkeley event in May. “In the mid-’80s, when we see ultra-processed foods starting to scale up in the American food supply, we also see obesity starting to really rise. That is the moment when some of the largest food companies are owned by tobacco companies.”
A reminder here that while there's an important directional claim behind stuff like this, "ultra-processed food" is an extremely silly category that does violence to the argument.
UPFs include:
* Whole wheat bread (most supermarket bread is stabilized, which you might not like aesthetically, but it isn't doing anything to your health)
* Almost all yogurt products, flavored or otherwise
* Literally all baby formula
* Any kind of plant-based meat replacement
* Many supermarket hummus brands (again: stabilizers and emulsifiers)
You get to "ultra-processed" simply by making things shelf-stable, and shelf-stability isn't an actual health problem (kind of the opposite).
You get to problematic through hyperpalatability, which is another, different target of modern food engineering. Hyperpalatable foods are almost always UPFs, but the other direction doesn't hold at all.
Yes and pretty much all baby formula is bad. Vegetable oil is often the #1 ingredient and is not even close to having the same density as breast milk. It can be life saving, but it’s not an example of UPF being generally good.
Also supermarket whole wheat bread is very different than real bread if you look at the ingredients. It’s more like bread adjacent.
> most supermarket bread is stabilized, which you might not like aesthetically, but it isn't doing anything to your health
That's a large assertion to make without evidence. Personally, I'm suspicious of all antimicrobial agents' effects on gut microbiota and the knock-on effects on health.
I think someone has really mislead you on yoghurt. If you get plain, natural yoghurt it’s not ultra processed.
Flavored yoghurt is often candy adjacent, but sneeks under the radar as a health food "It's probiotic!"
Shelf-stable hummus and Doritos can both be "ultra-processed", but that doesn't tell you much about why one might encourage overconsumption. Hyperpalatability seems much closer to the actual claim the article is trying to make.
With the exception, maybe, of whole wheat bread (it seems they sometimes add extra wheat gluten, technically an additive but yes, silly), these all seem right to me? Especially meat replacements, they're often incredibly highly processed.
Yoghurt is one you seem to be mistaken on. Yoghurt can be considered group 1, it just often contains thickeners, sweeteners, flavourings, etc. Especially if low-fat.
You're right of course that hyperpalatability is a bigger problem. And you don't have to agree that UPFs are something you need to avoid. But I don't think that makes it a silly category.
> You get to "ultra-processed" simply by making things shelf-stable, and shelf-stability isn't an actual health problem (kind of the opposite).
I would point out that many whole foods are generally shelf-stable (over at least weeks, if not months) without requiring the introduction of chemical stabilizers that don't otherwise "belong."
Chemical stabilizers are generally needed for shelf stability in ultra-processed foods, because of one of the other defining characteristics of ultra-processed foods: their matrix has been disrupted (or constructed anew) such that the food is now highly labile (biochemical term: "labile organic matter"), i.e. very easy to break down into nutrients. Which applies not only to you breaking such foods down in your gut, but also to bacteria and fungi breaking these foods down on the shelf.
And as it so happens, because these foods are labile, any such nutrients that do come from breaking down the food, come very quickly. Labile carbohydrates are high-glycemic-index insulin-spiking carbohydrates. Labile fats are atherosclerosis-inducing fats. Etc.
Your body evolved to process (metabolize, remove from circulation, etc.) metabolic inputs in an environment where most available foods were the opposite of labile (a.k.a. recalcitrant organic matter). So most meals would give a slow/gentle level of metabolic throughput; with rare spikes of higher throughput from the rare natural labile food, and then plenty of low-throughput time to recover from such events. Your body didn't evolve to be able to deal with getting high-throughput metabolic input spikes from every meal.
And this is why the the presence of chemical stabilizers in a food is actually a very helpful criterion in the definition of "ultra-processed food"! The necessity of stabilization tells you that the food is likely labile (as otherwise, why would they have needed to stabilize it?) — and therefore is unhealthy to be consumed on a continuous basis. (Unless it's milk and you're a baby.)
But note that the stabilizer isn't itself the problem. Bread is ultra-processed even without a stabilizer, because bread is a labile food with weak matrix integrity. The bread you bake at home is ultra-processed; you're the one who ultra-processed it!
The "rules" for UPFs don't assert home-baked bread as a UPF, but that's because the point of the UPF designation is to label commercial foods, and more specifically, to draw a hard-line boundary based on objectively-measurable characteristics that industry players can't argue with or lie about. And lability / matrix integrity, while quantifiable, isn't something with a clear objective way to reduce it to a single number†; so any definition of UPF based on lability would result in endless arguments/pushback from industry players insisting the FDA is "calculating it wrong."
But in your own personal life, the definition of "ultra-processed" you should be carrying around in your head and evaluating foods by, should be one that includes lability.
† (Instead, lability is a high-dimensional measurement of how efficiently any single digestive enzyme, and/or any specific combination of enzymes, and/or any enzyme paired with a cofactor [e.g. a bile salt], will break apart the given food's matrix to release bio-accessible nutrients.)
my wife describes ultra processed food as food that is basically pre digested for you before you eat it, which seems like a pretty good definition to me
Seems like that would include all fermented foods.
> UPFs include:
> * Ultra-processed whole wheat bread
> * Ultra-processed yogurt products
> * Literally all baby formula
> * Ultra-processed plant-based meat replacement
> * Ultra-processed hummus brands (again: stabilizers and emulsifiers)
There, fixed that for you.
(I don't know about baby formula, but granting you that one.)
Most of the things you listed are highly processed foods that are not good for you and will contribute to obesity.
They're not 'highly processed' in a way that makes them contribute to obesity any more than the same thing made at home.
Maybe true as long as you make it the same way at home as the ultra processed version from the store. But you usually can't since you don't have the machinery.
Homemade wheat bread made of just wheat/water/salt is an entirely different thing from most "whole wheat bread" in the food industry.
Same for yogurt etc.
That's the point. Homemade white bread and store bought have the same nutritional profile. They're both hyper-palatable. The super fine milling of the flour and removal of the bran makes it super tasty and enables the body to convert it into glucose super quick.
A whole-grain bread made with stone milled flour is going to be far healthier for you than steel ground white bread even if the brown bread is technically UPF and the white bread is home made.
The true "natural" alternative would be a cracked-wheat porridge. That's about as far as you can get from hyper-palatable.
Japan has ultra processed foods and they don't seem to have an obesity epidemic.
They do have a strong education system that teaches cooking and food budgeting and related.
They also don't have a marijuana epidemic.
>Japan has ultra processed foods and they don't seem to have an obesity epidemic.
Most of that's from a much stronger national guidance on weight control + societal expectations, but IIRC they also are gaining weight. Their ultra processed foods (in the salt and preservative sense) are also why they have one of the highest rates of stomach cancer.
> They also don't have a marijuana epidemic.
Not sure if I'd categorize the US as in a marijuana epidemic (and this is coming from someone who doesn't consume it and dislikes being around it) but even if we were, the states with the highest marijuana usage (west coast and NE) and the states with the highest obesity rates (deep south) are almost non-overlapping circles. If we're tying a drug to be obesity rates I'd be much more willing to believe it's the American propensity to chug large amounts of cheap 100-120 calories a pop beer.
Japan is probably evidence that the surrounding food culture matters at least as much as the existence of UPFs. You can sell plenty of processed food without getting the same outcome if portion sizes, eating habits, school meals, and daily activity are different. The marijuana comparison feels like a non sequitur, though.
Ultra processed food is about 50-60% of American calories, versus 38% in Japan [1]. Also try visiting a Japanese 7-11, there's tons of fresh-made food options with vegetables and such.
Still Japan is developing a weight problem too.
1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10260628/
Japan is one of the countries where people smoke literally everywhere. As for marijuana, it's highly illegal, it's one of the remnants of the colonial history there as everything apart from smoking and drinking is considered evil due to how China was devastated with opium.
Maybe 20 years ago, not so much today. There are a few places around town and a few indoor restaurants where public smoking is still permitted, but this is no longer true in most public spaces. Not on train platforms, not indoors in the vast majority of public spaces, it's just not that common and the number of smokers in Japan has significantly diminished over the last several decades.
There are 'smoking boxes' on some train platforms, but I rarely see those in use by more than a few people out of the several hundred who may be waiting. Marijuana is also 'highly' illegal but also not exactly hard to find for people who are 'hip' and it's also not aggressively enforced, much like speeding.
Also, Japan doesn't actually have a 'colonial history' having never been colonized by another nation.
I'm thinking you have just heard about Japan by rough description?
> Also, Japan doesn't actually have a 'colonial history' having never been colonized by another nation.
It was never colonized but I've often heard it talked about in a similar way due to the effects of the Commodore Perry and the post WWII occupation (i.e. see their infamous pornography laws), as well as neighboring affects from China's colonial history.
The infamous 'anti-pornography laws' actually predate Perry by a significant period of time. Those were a Tokugawa era law originally. Post WWII occupation has had very little actual impact on Japanese culture, no matter how impactful the occupiers think they were.
It's the first time I've seen this put forward, I thought the effects of occupation were obvious and undeniable. To me at least there is a clear influence in art/music/cinema, technology, and food. Though over time, it fuses to the point of being its own thing.
Yeah I was going to say I don’t remember seeing smokers anywhere other than the ‘box of shame’
> They also don't have a marijuana epidemic.
I don't see this mentioned in the transcript. What is the basis for you mentioning it? Seems like a weird thing to throw in without explanation. I say this as someone that does not consume cannabis, btw, so this is not a defense of cannabis usage.
Japan may come up a lot in discussions about longevity, but doesn't Japan have a drinking culture that is very unhealthy? It's pretty well established that alcohol has a serious impact on health in numerous ways. There is even a condition called alcohol-related dementia.
The concept of 'ultra-processed foods' in Japan has some significant differences from the rest of the world. The food safety regulations are actually quite strict. What follows is a list of some synthetic materials found in US foods which are PROHIBITED in Japanese consumables. So the statement 'Japan has ultra processed foods and they don't seem to have an obesity epidemic.' is a misunderstanding of what food might look like American Ultra-Processed food and is missing any of these toxic ingredients.
1. Flour/Dough Treatment Agents (Bleaching, Maturing, Conditioning)
Azodicarbonamide (ADA) : Dough-conditioning/bleaching agent; oxidizes flour proteins to improve elasticity and whiteness. Currently found in some supermarket sandwich breads and hamburger/hot dog buns.
Potassium Bromate (KBrO₃) : Oxidizing agent that strengthens gluten structure and increases dough rise/volume. Classified a possible human carcinogen (IARC 2B); banned in the EU, Canada, and UK; California has banned it starting 2027. Still federally permitted in the US in trace residual amounts. Regional and bulk/wholesale bakery bread products.
Chlorine Gas / Chlorine Dioxide : Bleaching and maturing agents for wheat flour. Currently used in "bleached flour," a listed ingredient in many cake-mix and biscuit-mix products.
Ammonium Chloride (synthetic) : Yeast nutrient/dough conditioner that accelerates fermentation. Used in some commercial bread and cracker doughs as a processing aid.
2. Synthetic Antioxidants & Preservatives
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) / Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) ; Synthetic antioxidants preventing fat/oil rancidity. NTP lists BHA as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen." Some current chewing gum and packaged-snacks.
Tert-Butylated Hydroquinone (TBHQ) : Synthetic antioxidant preservative used at very low levels to extend shelf life of oils and fried/processed foods. Pop-Tarts (Kellanova) and Little Debbie snack cakes.
Propylparaben : Antifungal preservative. EU treats it as effectively banned over endocrine-disruption concerns; California has banned it in food starting 2027; it remains FDA-permitted and is under an active FDA chemical-safety review opened in 2024. Advocacy groups (EWG) have specifically petitioned makers like Entenmann's and Sara Lee to remove it.
Thiodipropionic Acid & Dilauryl Thiodipropionate : Synergist antioxidants used alongside BHA/BHT in fats and shortening.
Stearyl Citrate : Antioxidant/chelating agent in margarines and oil-based dressings.
Ethoxyquin : Antioxidant/color stabilizer, originally developed as a pesticide; used to preserve color in ground spices. Bulk and store-brand ground paprika and chili powder spice blends.
Stannous Chloride : Antioxidant/color-retention agent for canned foods. Canned white asparagus.
3. Emulsifiers, Stabilizers & Texturizers
Polysorbate 60 & Polysorbate 80 : Emulsifiers for oil/water blending in baked goods, ice cream, and creamers. Cool Whip (Kraft) and Coffee-Mate liquid/powdered creamers.
Synthetic Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC / Cellulose Gum) : Thickener/stabilizer preventing ice-crystal formation. Common ingredient in many mainstream ice creams (store-brand and name-brand alike — check the specific carton) and low-fat salad dressings.
Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate (SAIB) : Weighting agent keeping citrus flavor oils suspended. Used in some citrus-flavored sports drinks and sodas currently on the market.
Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate (DSS / Docusate Sodium) : Wetting agent improving dispersibility of powders. Used in instant cocoa/hot chocolate mix formulations.
Oxystearin Anti-crystallizing agent keeping liquid vegetable oils clear under refrigeration. Used in some refrigerated bottled vegetable/salad oils, typically store-brand.
4. Synthetic Colorants
Titanium Dioxide : White opacifying/color additive. Banned as a food additive in the EU (2022); still FDA-approved federally (up to 1% by weight), under an open FDA safety review since 2023, and subject to a pending California ban effective 2027. Per FDA data cited by food-safety reporting, over 4,300 candy products currently contain it, along with many white frostings, powdered coffee creamers, and donut glazes.
FD&C Citrus Red No. 2 : Colorant with one narrow legal use: coloring the skins of Florida oranges (not the flesh, not general food products). Currently applied to some Florida orange peels sold in grocery stores.
Fast Green FCF (FD&C Green No. 3) : Synthetic green dye, low usage volume relative to other approved dyes. Currently found in some mint-flavored candies and canned green vegetable products with added color.
5. Anti-Caking & Coating Agents
Synthetic Magnesium Silicate (Synthetic Talc) : Anti-caking agent absorbing moisture in powders. Used in some current powdered spice blends and pre-shredded cheese as an anti-caking coating; brand presence varies enough that I'd want you to check the specific product's label rather than take a brand name from me.
Sodium Ferrocyanide (Yellow Prussiate of Soda) : Anti-caking agent in table and processed salt. Present in some current table salt formulations, including certain Morton's products, and in salt used within processed snack seasoning blends.
Modified Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Coatings : Glossy protective film coating on high-sugar snack pieces. Yogurt-covered raisins and pretzels.
Synthetic Petroleum Waxes : Food-grade paraffin/microcrystalline waxes for candy shine and moisture barrier. Hard candies and chocolate-coated candy shells.
6. Chelating & Minor Functional Agents
Calcium Disodium EDTA : Chelating agent binding trace metals to prevent oxidation/discoloration. Kraft Mayo and Miracle Whip-type sandwich spreads, and in canned beans and some canned soft drinks.
Zinc Lactate : Zinc salt used for anti-cavity/breath-related function rather than classic preservation. Sugar-free chewing gums marketed for dental benefits (e.g., certain Trident and Orbit formulations)
7. Fortification Agents
Synthetic Iron Sources (Carbonyl Iron) : Reduced elemental iron powder fortifying "enriched" flour. Wonder Bread, most white sandwich breads, and in many fortified breakfast cereals.
8. Processing Solvents & Residues
Acetone : Industrial solvent used in extraction of some resins/oleoresins and fat/cocoa-butter processing; trace residues can remain.
Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane) : Solvent used for coffee/tea decaffeination via direct extraction. FDA permits a 10 ppm residual limit specifically for this food use. "Traditional process" decaffeinated coffees that don't specify "Swiss Water" or "CO2 process" on the label .
9. Agricultural & Livestock Inputs (Not Added Directly to Food , Present via Animal-Derived Ingredients)
Ractopamine : Beta-agonist fed to pigs and cattle before slaughter to increase lean muscle growth. Banned in the EU, China, and Russia; still FDA-approved for US livestock. Because it's a feed input rather than a processing additive, it never appears on any processed-food label.
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH/rBST) : Synthetic hormone used to increase dairy cow milk yield. Banned in the EU, Canada, and Japan; still FDA-approved in the US. Most major retailers and chains (Walmart, Kroger, Starbucks) now source rBST-free and label accordingly, so current use is concentrated in dairy supply chains that don't carry that label. Think about all the 'strawberry milk' and 'chocolate milk' drinks without this label.
So, no Japan does not have the same kinds of Ultra-Processed foods as the US, and for MANY other reasons doesn't have an obesity crisis.
They do have a functional educational system, and have plentiful availability of fresh fruits and vegetables within walking distance of nearly every citizen. The idea of US inner city 'fruit free' areas is perplexing in the extreme to their perceptions of "American Greatness."
They also have society self enforced limits on bringing harm to society restraining capitalism
I recently discovered just how much food engineering goes into products like potato chips and similar items, not only in the flavor, but also in the texture and even the sound it makes.
There's someone at the factory who basically spends their time eating samples from new batches to ensure they're exactly as expected.
Is Huel ultra processed food too? They promote themselves as healthy meals and I am long time subscriber. I keep telling myself that even if it is not like cooking from raw ingredients, it is still far from a greasy junk food at kebab shops and McDonalds.
Hyper-ultra-processed, yes. But, as others point out in these comments, a food's degree of processing doesn't determine its health value, although those two things are correlated.
Personally, my instincts would favor Huel over fast food, too. I'd be very interested in any study that tested this rigorously. Huel is far from anything "raw," but so long as all the nutritional components are still in there, one has to wonder if it's just as healthy.
Companies should be required to provide the full supply-chain of the ingredients. On the packaging. With addresses. And no PO-boxes.
Check out what the UN UNTP is working on for supply chain. Step in that direction. Of course, unlikely in USA.
We eat engineered low-quality material, not real food.
mostly petroleum derivatives
Reading through this and thinking about the problem in a blame-free way leads me to see the tobacco companies as a through-line for product packaging optimization that transcends any specific use. "The first patented cigarette-making machine was invented by Juan Nepomuceno Adorno of Mexico in 1847." [0] This puts high volume manufacture of cigarettes right at the cusp of the second industrial revolution with improvements in "steel-making processes, mass production, assembly lines, electrical grid systems, large-scale manufacture of machine tools, and use of advanced machinery in steam-powered factories." [1]
0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
Blame free works with humans where you assume good intent.
It's harmful and dangerous with corporations with a proven history of lying and disregard for human lives and well being. Especially ones with a record of developing and optimizing addictive products.
any more "ethical" tobacco company got out competed. result: blame tobacco companies that survived.
People still smoke. any lies the tobacco companies sold to the public were either so old that few alive heard them, or believed them when they were told.
If you're listening to the podcast or video, the presentation starts at 8:58!
some other light reading on this topic:
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2026.3085...
> Buying into the food industry also facilitated the tobacco companies in applying the knowledge, skills, and strategies developed from their tobacco businesses to another business domain in ultraprocessed foods and beverages. For example, Philip Morris applied its aggressive marketing tactics developed from its tobacco businesses to market ultraprocessed foods to the US public. Furthermore, US tobacco companies and their food companies were systematically involved with developing hyper-palatable foods, which have elevated addictive properties.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.16332
>Tobacco-owned foods were 29% more likely to be classified as fat and sodium hyper-palatable foods (HPF) and 80% more likely to be classified as carbohydrate and sodium HPF than foods that were not tobacco-owned between 1988 and 2001 (P-values = 0.005–0.009).
https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/cigarette-giants-bought-food-compan...
> Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds led the transition to sweetened beverages in 1963 when it purchased Hawaiian Punch from Pacific Hawaiian Products Company, according to the documents. The beverage previously had been promoted to adults as a cocktail mixer, but R.J. Reynolds sought to beef up the drink’s “Punchy” mascot – a counterpart to the “Joe Camel” cartoon character the company used to promote cigarettes – and featured it on toys, schoolbook covers, comics, tumblers, clothing and TV commercials. Punchy became the “best salesman the beverage ever had,” according to tobacco industry documents.
> In the ’60s and ’70s, the company conducted taste tests with children and mothers to evaluate sweetness, colors and flavors for Hawaiian Punch product line extensions. The children’s preferences were prioritized, the authors noted.
> By 1983, R.J. Reynolds introduced the nation’s first juice box, marketed as a “handy little carton that comes with its very own straw.” This innovation was largely responsible for a 34 percent jump in sales, according to industry documents.
other fun things might include just reading the Wikpedia pages on major food companies like Kraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraft_Foods_Inc.#Financial_exp...
> At the end of 1988, Philip Morris Companies purchased Kraft for $12.9 billion. In 1989, Kraft merged with Philip Morris's General Foods unit—makers of Oscar Mayer meats, Maxwell House coffee, Jell-O gelatin, Budget Gourmet frozen dinners, Entenmann's baked goods, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light and Tang powdered beverage mixes, Post Cereals, Shake 'n Bake flavored coatings and numerous other packaged foods—as Kraft General Foods. Its aggressive product development was reversed after the merger, as it became slow in addressing issues on its product lines due to its size, and also company politics.[4]
> In 2000, Philip Morris (renamed Altria in 2003) acquired Nabisco Holdings for $18.9 billion and merged the company with Kraft Foods the same year.[212][4] Also in 2000, the company acquired Balance Bar.[213] In 2001, Philip Morris sold 280 million Kraft shares via the third-largest IPO of all time, retaining an 88.1% stake in the company.
Interesting, but I wouldn't oversimplify this to one cause. Home cooking of meals and making of lemonade/fruit punch used to be a norm. Society chose to move towards taking a lazy way out with microwave dinners and takeouts. On the other hand, Asian countries have healthier fresh made bento boxes in convenience stores so it's not time saving alone. At the end of the day, companies deliver what consumers want and try to discern demand, what else are they supposed to do?
Companies attempt to manufacture demand all the time. It’s one of the core functions of marketing.
Liquid Death is a perfect example of manufactured demand.
> In the early 1960s ...
Huh? Ultra processed foods got very popular long before the 1960s. Wonder Bread came out in 1921. Kellogg came out with corn flakes in the 1900s. Etc.
Pop tarts contain like 100 (hyperbole) different types of elements/molecules/chemicals in them lmao they’re mass manufactured in a factory.
Very different from some basic corn flakes or bread being mass produced.
Okay... Pop Tarts are also Kellogg's, not a tobacco company. But let me pick some other examples.
Eggo waffles predate RJ Reynolds getting into this by 10 years.
Twinkies were introduced in the 1930s.
I'm not defending ultra-processed foods nor tobacco companies. I'm just saying the authors have a major blind spot if they think the concept or popularity of ultra-processed foods started in the 1960s.
The Twinkie of 1940 is very different from the Twinkie of 2000. Lots of old and sort of OK things got corrupted when pulled into the corporate-Zerg-slime
This is a bit of a strawman. The authors, if you read the article carefully, are not saying either of what you're attributing to them.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems.