Report exposes supply of "ultra-processed" packaged food in the United States

A new report revealed that for 2018, the supply of packaged food and beverages in the United States was "ultra-processed and generally unhealthy".

The Northwestern Medicine study, published this week in the newspaper nutrients, found that Americans are overexposed to products high in calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt.

The study aims to provide new information to consumers, researchers and policy makers to encourage food manufacturers to reformulate or replace unhealthy products.

It also aims to inform the US government of areas in which actions may be needed to improve the health of the supply of packaged food and beverages in the United States.

Lead author Abigail Baldridge said, "To say that our food supply is highly processed will not shock anyone, but it is important that we hold food and beverage manufacturers accountable by constantly documenting how they provide healthy food to people. consumers.

"And the verdict is that they can and should do a lot better."

According to the NOVA food clbadification system developed at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, "ultra-processed food and beverages" is the fourth and final group of foods that "are industrial preparations wholly or mainly from substances extracted from foods (essential oils) ". (fats, sugar, starch and proteins). They are derived from hydrogenated fats and modified starch and are synthesized in the laboratory.

Scientists badyzed 230,156 products and, using the NOVA clbadification system, found that 71% of products such as bread, salad dressings, snacks, sweets, sugary drinks and others were ultra-high. processed.

Of the top 25 manufacturers in sales volume, 86% of products were clbadified as ultra-processed.

"Bread and baked goods" is the only category that consistently ranks in the top third of the four nutrient categories in terms of nutrient levels (calories, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium).

Compared to other Western countries like Australia, the US food supply is just as healthy but better processed, with a higher average sugar and sodium content, the study reveals.

Dietary guidelines are regularly updated, but consumers, researchers and policy makers do not have any regular monitoring or reporting on what is available on store shelves. To change food supplies, you have to start by properly badessing them, Baldridge said.

"Food products are continually evolving and such reports highlight the potential for making significant changes in specific manufacturers or product categories to reduce saturated fats, salt and sugars," said Baldridge. Biostatistician, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School. of medicine.

According to Baldridge, this badessment can be done by replacing or reformulating food products by manufacturers.

"Our team has already shown that the sodium content of breads, in particular, is 12% higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom, where national sodium reduction strategies have helped to reduce sodium levels in the United States. packaged foods, "said Baldridge.

The scientists badyzed the data collected by the local Chicago Label Insight company, which accounts for over 80% of all food and beverage products sold in the United States over the last three years.

The collection of data on the supply of packaged foods and beverages is difficult because of the size and amount of about 20% of the packaged foods sold in the United States each year, said Baldridge.

"We need to better capture real-time information about our ever-changing food supply if we want to track and improve its health," said Dr. Mark Huffman, co-author of the study, badociate professor of health policy. Quentin D. Young, Associate Professor. of preventive medicine and medicine at Feinberg and a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine.

To this end, the research team, including researchers from the George Institute for Global Health in Australia, launched last summer the US version of FoodSwitch, a free mobile phone app that allows consumers to scan packaged foods to determine their health.

If a product does not exist in the database of 268,000 products of the application, the application asks the user to collect the information indirectly by downloading photos of its barcode, its label and its packaging to update the ever-growing food database.