FDA looks to answer the question: What makes food ultra processed?

Dive Brief:

• The FDA is working to create a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods, opening the door to regulating one of the main targets of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.  
• The agency, in partnership with HHS and the USDA, is asking stakeholders for information and data that will help establish a federally recognized definition of ultra-processed foods.
• There is no single authoritative definition for ultra-processed foods for the U.S. food supply, the FDA said. A definition could help shape future regulation, including what types of food can be eligible for school lunch or food assistance benefit programs.

Dive Insight:

Kennedy has cited ultra-processed foods as one of the primary sources of chronic illness in the U.S., saying they are “poisoning” Americans and are driving childhood disease. 

Ultra-processed foods such as chips, sodas and packaged bread make up more than half of the total dietary energy consumed in high-income countries, including the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health. Studies have linked these foods to negative outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Ultra-processed foods typically refer to items made through industrial processing or food containing additives, such as artificial flavors or added sugars,  to make the product more appetizing.

“The threats posed to our health by foods often considered ultra-processed are clear and convincing, making it imperative that we work in lockstep with our federal partners to advance, for the first time ever, a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement.

However, some foods that may be considered ultra-processed may not be associated with negative health outcomes, as former FDA leaders have pointed out. Foods like whole grain bread, yogurt, tofu and even infant formula are considered ultra-processed under some definitions, even though they are “absolutely essential, nutritious foods,” according to testimony from former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and former FDA Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods Jim Jones. 

Defining ultra-processed foods could help advance nutritional research and influence policy. There have been few studies evaluating the direct impact of processed foods on health, according to Nitin Nitin, department vice chair of food science and technology at the University of California, Davis.

To better understand the impact of processed foods, there needs to be more research into how the combination of ingredients and processing affects health outcomes, he said.

Research is needed to clearly understand the individual roles of ingredient formulations and processing in influencing food properties and their impact on human health,” Nitin observed in a Q&A.