Ultra-processed foods: increasing health and regulatory pressure on manufacturers and retailers

The NOVA system groups foods according to their level of processing, not their nutrient content. The most controversial category is NOVA 4, i.e. the group of ultra-processed foods, which includes, for example, a significant portion of heavily flavored ready meals, soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, snacks, and instant products. They are characterized by the fact that they contain additives – emulsifiers, dyes, flavor enhancers, sweeteners – that are not found in household kitchens.

According to the review titled “Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health outcomes”, which summarizes dozens of studies, in some European countries – such as the United Kingdom or Spain – up to 50–70 percent of the average daily energy intake can come from ultra-processed products. This is a significant shift compared to previous decades and indicates a clear structural change in food consumption.

Research shows a strong correlation between high rates of UPFs and an increased risk of several chronic diseases, in particular:

• obesity and metabolic syndrome,

• cardiovascular diseases,

• type 2 diabetes,

• certain cancers (such as colon cancer),

• depression and mental disorders,

• intestinal flora damage and inflammatory processes.

The importance of the topic is also increased by the fact that The number of known chemicals in the world is growing rapidly. According to the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), while in the 1960s there were approximately 200,000 registered compounds, today this number has exceeded 200 million, and in recent years an average of seven new chemicals have been registered every day. Although not all of these originate from the food industry, experts say that substances that enter the environment can also appear in the human body in the long term.

From a commercial perspective, this poses a serious challenge. Ultra-processed foods have played a key role in retail sales so far due to their fast turnover, low production costs and long shelf life. At the same time, regulatory, health policy and consumer pressure is increasing:

• restriction of school and public institution offerings is emerging in several countries,

• “clean label” and additive reduction efforts are spreading,

• there is a growing interest in minimally processed, short ingredient products towards.

For trade and the FMCG sector, this is a double message:
on the one hand, UPFs continue to be traffic-control products,
on the other hand, they carry an increasing reputational and regulatory risk in the long term.

According to experts, one of the key questions in the coming years will be to what extent manufacturers and retail chains can transform their portfolios towards products with lower processing and more transparent composition, while maintaining price and accessibility advantages. This becomes not only a health policy issue, but also a business competitiveness issue in the European food market.