Scientists Develop New System for Classifying Processed Foods

Scientists develop new system for classifying processed foods

Recent years have seen growing scrutiny and debate around processed foods, but researchers have struggled to pin down what aspects of food processing are most relevant to health.

Scientists Propose New Approach for Classifying Processed Foods

Recent years have seen growing scrutiny and debate around processed foods, but researchers have struggled to pin down what aspects of food processing are most relevant to health. Now, scientists have developed a system for classifying processed foods based on information about the health impacts associated with particular ingredients.

expert reaction to unpublished conference abstract in which scientists propose a new approach for classifying processed foods

A conference abstract presented at the annual conference of the American Society for Nutrition looks at a new approach for classifying processed foods.    Prof Martin Warren, Chief Scientific Officer and Group Leader, the Quadram Institute, said: “Refining the definition of processed food is key to improving scientific precision as the current NOVA categories, especially “ultra-processed foods” (UPFs), are too broad and vague, grouping diverse f…