4 ms·
The commonly accepted standard is incoherent. Chips are listed. Not "some" as is qualified for frozen dinners, but just chips. Chips are just sliced potatoes c
by phonypc 5y ago
The commonly accepted standard is incoherent.
Chips are listed. Not "some" as is qualified for frozen dinners, but just chips. Chips are just sliced potatoes cooked in oil and salted. No "artificial colors and flavors and preservatives that promote shelf stability, preserve texture, and increase palatability". If you dust some MSG and onion powder on them I guess that technically fits under artifical flavor. But I can do that at home in a couple seconds. Does dusting the same MSG and onion powder on my roasted asparagus make it ultra-processed?
Insofar as chips are an issue, it's that they contain too much fat, or too much salt or something. Not some magical property attached to them in an industrial factory.
There are similar mismatches for their other examples.
- cheese_goddess 5y agoAs the quote says "Not all but some of these foods tend to be low in fiber and nutrients". Chips are given as an example of that as are sugary drinks, cookies, some crackers, breakfast cereals, some frozen dinners, and luncheon meats. Further, "These foods may partially if not completely replace minimally processed foods in some people’s diets". Chips in particular are cooked in low-quality oils and highly salted (a pack of crisps in my neck of the woods has about 1.5 to 2% salt). Of course you can do that at home and nobody's stopping you, but chips are sold by the million tons all over the world. Hence the concerns about making peoples' diets a mess.
- phonypc 5y agoRight, the problem with chips isn't how processed they are. They're hardly processed at all. It's what is/isn't in them. Nobody would call homemade mashed potatoes ultra-processed, even if they were made to be nutritionally identical to Lay's chips.