Q&A: Why drafting new rules on ultra-processed foods is so hard

Ultra-processed foods are part of daily life, filling 60% to 70% of the American diet. That umbrella term covers a wide variety of packaged foods, from snacks carrying added sugar, salt, and saturated fat combined with preservatives for shelf life, additives for flavor, colorants for eye appeal, and chemicals like bisphenols in the packages themselves. Processed meats, as their name would suggest, also belong in this category.

But ultra-processed foods are not all the same. Whole grain cereal and breads also qualify for the label, as do yogurts and some other dairy desserts. JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, reported in Lancet Regional Health last month on a large analysis of long-running studies looking at links between ultra-processed foods and cardiovascular disease. The bottom line: One size does not fit all.

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