Abstract
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are negatively perceived by part of the scientific community, the public, and policymakers alike, to the extent they are sometimes referred to as not “real food”. Many observational surveys have linked consumption of UPFs to adverse health outcomes. This narrative synthesis and scientific reappraisal of available evidence aims to: (i) critically evaluate UPF-related scientific literature on diet and disease and identify possible research gaps or biases in the interpretation of data; (ii) emphasize the innovative potential of various processing technologies that can lead to modifications of the food matrix with beneficial health effects; (iii) highlight the possible links between processing, sustainability and circular economy through the valorisation of by-products; and (iv) delineate the conceptual parameters of new paradigms in food evaluation and classification systems. Although greater consumption of UPFs has been associated with obesity, unfavorable cardiometabolic risk factor profiles, and increased risk for non-communicable diseases, whether specific food processing techniques leading to ultra-processed formulations are responsible for the observed links between UPFs and various health outcomes remains elusive and far from being understood. Evolving technologies can be used in the context of sustainable valorisation of food processing by-products to create novel, low-cost UPFs with improved nutritional value and health potential. New paradigms of food evaluation and assessment should be funded and developed on several novel pillars—enginomics, signalling, and precision nutrition—taking advantage of available digital technologies and artificial intelligence. Research is needed to generate required scientific knowledge to either expand the current or create new food evaluation and classification systems, incorporating processing aspects that may have a significant impact on health and wellness, together with factors related to the personalization of foods and diets, while not neglecting recycling and sustainability aspects. The complexity and the predicted immense size of these tasks calls for open innovation mentality and a new mindset promoting multidisciplinary collaborations and partnerships between academia and industry.
Highlights
Food processing and technology have had a major impact on the availability and composition of foods throughout the human history
The future challenges of producing palatable, safe, healthy, and sustainable foods lie ahead, and need to be addressed from a multidisciplinary, integrative, and sustainable perspective. In this narrative synthesis and scientific reappraisal of available data, we provide an outlook on Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and discuss their effects on health and disease, considering the paramount requirements put forth by modern societies and economies for greater sustainability
The putative adverse health effects of UPFs have been emphasized in recent years, associating negative connotations to whole groups of products and processing techniques, without properly considering the effects of food processing conditions, as well as several other internal and external factors
Summary
Food processing and technology have had a major impact on the availability and composition of foods throughout the human history. The earliest evidence of food processing can be traced back to prehistoric times, about 2 million years ago, when fire cooking was discovered [1] It was not until much later, during the 20th century, when science and technology were applied in agriculture and food and beverage manufacturing on a wide scale; this enabled the world population to increase at an unprecedented rate [2]. The future challenges of producing palatable, safe, healthy, and sustainable foods lie ahead, and need to be addressed from a multidisciplinary, integrative, and sustainable perspective In this narrative synthesis and scientific reappraisal of available data, we provide an outlook on UPFs and discuss their effects on health and disease, considering the paramount requirements put forth by modern societies and economies for greater sustainability. We outline several novel aspects that can improve current paradigms of processed food evaluation and assessment
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