Special issue on ultra-processed foods

Abstract

The role played by foods and dietary patterns in human well-being goes beyond the mere nutritional contribution since they influence our physical and mental health, evoke hedonic sensations, and even influence our mood. Health authorities and consumers (and society as a whole) are increasingly concerned about the relationship between the consumption of processed foods (PF) and ultra-processed foods (UPF) on the onset of chronic diseases such as diabesity (type 2 diabetes [T2D] in obese individuals) or some types of cancer. There are well-founded reasons for this concern since (1) diabesity, frequently accompanied by cardiovascular events, is one of the main causes of death in developed countries, and (2) the consumption of UPF has increased exponentially in those countries in the last decade. In the United States, where the prevalence of obesity is above 40% (Phelps et al., 2024) and 1 out of 10 people suffer from T2D (Fang et al., 2023), the consumption of UPFs consists, on average, of more than 50% of the total energy intake (Touvier et al., 2023). The connection between UPF and poor health, however, is not well understood for several reasons. First, the concept of UPF is not well defined, and the renown Nova classification is openly criticized for being inconsistent and based on flawed criteria (Ahrné et al., 2024; Petrus et al., 2021). Some authors would agree that certain PF/UPF, such as fortified foods or plant-based analogues of animal foods, may not be ascribed as potentially harmful, while others state the potential negative influence on health of these same fabricated foods. In line with this controversy, the correlations based on epidemiological/observational studies do not imply causality, and hence, the precise UPF/food components likely responsible for such poor health are currently unknown. Furthermore, industrial food processing has enabled indisputable advances toward convenience, food safety, and palatability that may be regarded as positive contributions. Bearing all these controversies and challenges in mind, this special issue (SI) was conceived as a platform for food scientists to provide their critical opinion on this hot topic via concise reviews and to publish some original results from innovative studies. This SI may serve as an inspirational set of works from which food scientists may be encouraged to design and carry out more challenging studies aimed to understand the impact of processing on food structure and composition and that, in turn, on nutrition and health outcomes. With newfound, transparent, and scientifically based data, the food industry shall be able to design and produce palatable, and yet, satiating, nutritious, and healthy PF and UPF.

Sincerely,

Mario Estévez, DVM, PhD

Guest Editor, JFS Special Issue: Ultra-Processed Foods

Scientific Editor, Journal of Food Science

Professor, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain