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Ultra processed is defined by the FAO (The UN Food and Agriculture Organization) thusly: > Formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, mad

Ultra processed is defined by the FAO (The UN Food and Agriculture Organization) thusly: > Formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, made by a series of industrial processes, many requiring sophisticated equipment and technology (hence ‘ultra-processed’). Processes used to make ultra-processed foods include the fractioning of whole foods into substances, chemical modifications of these substances, assembly of unmodified and modified food substances using industrial techniques such as extrusion, moulding and pre-frying; use of additives at various stages of manufacture whose functions include making the final product palatable or hyper-palatable; and sophisticated packaging, usually with plastic and other synthetic materials. Source: http://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf http://www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf I believe this is the widest standard used to define "ultra-processed", though there are more sentences and paragraphs in that doc explaining the definition more thoroughly.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
Thanks! It seems like a two- or three-prong test: (1) cannot be made at home using commonly-available tools and ingredients, (2) uses "industrial techniques" and "additives" and (3) is packaged. The second prong seems ambiguous to the point of uselessness. "Industrial techniques" are covered by (1); "additives" seemingly impossible to define within this context.
- jfengel 5y ago
  They also have a definition of "additive" (a) food additive means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result, (directly or indirectly) in it or its by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods. The term does not include contaminants, or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities, or sodium chloride; http://www.fao.org/3/Y2770E/y2770e03.htm http://www.fao.org/3/Y2770E/y2770e03.htm The FAO has a standards body that will give you tons of detail to back up their papers. http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/ http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/
  - JumpCrisscross 5y ago
    That would still seem to cover the coagulants necessary to make tofu, the rennet used to make Gruyère or Parmigiano, or nitrates and nitrites for cured meats. I suppose "nor normally used as a typical ingredient" could be the turning point, but that does seem to acknowledge the question's complexity by, effectively, grandfathering in traditional additives.
Ajedi32 5y ago
That's pretty broad. Some of those things might be harmful, some might not be. I doubt extruding dough, cooking ("chemically modifying") it and wrapping it in plastic makes it any worse for you, for example. Whereas on the other side of the spectrum, there may indeed be food additives or chemical treatment process that _do_ make things worse. Maybe it's not helpful to paint things with such a broad brush, and we should instead focus on specific substances or practices which might be causing problems?
- eurasiantiger 5y ago
  Cooking can form many very bad things, e.g. neurotoxic heterocyclic amines. Plastics commonly leach hormone disruptors to food.
SpicyLemonZest 5y ago
As this document acknowledges, though, quite a few normal foods fall under their definition of "ultra-processed". Pasta sauce, sausages, ice cream, even bagged bread are all included.
legerdemain 5y ago
So, almost all cow milk sold in supermarkets is ultra-processed by this definition: centrifuged, reconstituted in measured ratios of liquids and solids, and pasteurized. Likewise, non-dairy milk like soy milk, which additionally has gelling agents added to control mouthfeel. That's a heck of a broad definition!
- ac29 5y ago
  > soy milk, which additionally has gelling agents added to control mouthfeel I'm sure all brands differ, but the box in my fridge says "Ingredients: Water, Organic Soybeans".
  - voakbasda 5y ago
    AFAIK, if the amount of an ingredient is small enough, it does not need to be listed on the packaging. The label is not authoritatively inclusive. Food for thought.
    - foolfoolz 5y ago
      yes. very similar to how “organic” constitutes a range of acceptable values and does not mean all ingredients are organic (and organic itself does not mean zero pesticides/chemicals)
    - Arrath 5y ago
      Example, Tic Tac mints are essentially entirely sugar yet fall under that threshold so the nutritional information reads '0g' of sugar per serving.
- eurasiantiger 5y ago
  Yes. Coincidently, most modern cow milk is not really good for you.
  - legerdemain 5y ago
    That's right, paleo cows produced keto-friendly milk back in the stone age.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago

Thanks! It seems like a two- or three-prong test: (1) cannot be made at home using commonly-available tools and ingredients, (2) uses "industrial techniques" and "additives" and (3) is packaged. The second prong seems ambiguous to the point of uselessness. "Industrial techniques" are covered by (1); "additives" seemingly impossible to define within this context.

jfengel 5y ago
They also have a definition of "additive" (a) food additive means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result, (directly or indirectly) in it or its by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics of such foods. The term does not include contaminants, or substances added to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities, or sodium chloride; http://www.fao.org/3/Y2770E/y2770e03.htm http://www.fao.org/3/Y2770E/y2770e03.htm The FAO has a standards body that will give you tons of detail to back up their papers. http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/ http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago
  That would still seem to cover the coagulants necessary to make tofu, the rennet used to make Gruyère or Parmigiano, or nitrates and nitrites for cured meats. I suppose "nor normally used as a typical ingredient" could be the turning point, but that does seem to acknowledge the question's complexity by, effectively, grandfathering in traditional additives.

Ajedi32 5y ago

That's pretty broad. Some of those things might be harmful, some might not be. I doubt extruding dough, cooking ("chemically modifying") it and wrapping it in plastic makes it any worse for you, for example. Whereas on the other side of the spectrum, there may indeed be food additives or chemical treatment process that _do_ make things worse. Maybe it's not helpful to paint things with such a broad brush, and we should instead focus on specific substances or practices which might be causing problems?

eurasiantiger 5y ago
Cooking can form many very bad things, e.g. neurotoxic heterocyclic amines. Plastics commonly leach hormone disruptors to food.

SpicyLemonZest 5y ago

As this document acknowledges, though, quite a few normal foods fall under their definition of "ultra-processed". Pasta sauce, sausages, ice cream, even bagged bread are all included.

legerdemain 5y ago

So, almost all cow milk sold in supermarkets is ultra-processed by this definition: centrifuged, reconstituted in measured ratios of liquids and solids, and pasteurized. Likewise, non-dairy milk like soy milk, which additionally has gelling agents added to control mouthfeel. That's a heck of a broad definition!

ac29 5y ago
> soy milk, which additionally has gelling agents added to control mouthfeel I'm sure all brands differ, but the box in my fridge says "Ingredients: Water, Organic Soybeans".
- voakbasda 5y ago
  AFAIK, if the amount of an ingredient is small enough, it does not need to be listed on the packaging. The label is not authoritatively inclusive. Food for thought.
  - foolfoolz 5y ago
    yes. very similar to how “organic” constitutes a range of acceptable values and does not mean all ingredients are organic (and organic itself does not mean zero pesticides/chemicals)
  - Arrath 5y ago
    Example, Tic Tac mints are essentially entirely sugar yet fall under that threshold so the nutritional information reads '0g' of sugar per serving.
eurasiantiger 5y ago
Yes. Coincidently, most modern cow milk is not really good for you.
- legerdemain 5y ago
  That's right, paleo cows produced keto-friendly milk back in the stone age.