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Ultra-processed foods, including industrially produced packaged snacks, fruit-flavored drinks and hot dogs, have been linked to health problems ranging from weight gain to certain cancers. So where does food policy help Americans avoid these foods?
A new study published in the American journal of preventive medicine notes that only a small portion of US policy takes ultra-processed foods into account, lagging behind countries such as Belgium, Brazil and Israel.
“In some countries, ultra-processed foods have been directly integrated into national dietary guidelines and school feeding programs, but in the U.S. few policies have focused on ultra-processed foods,” said Jennifer Pomeranz, an associate professor of public health policy and management in the NYU School of Global Public Health and the study’s first author.
After decades of focusing on single nutrients such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates in food science and food policy, a growing body of evidence shows that the quality of nutrition is more than just nutrients.
“It is clear that the degree of processing of a food can affect its health effects independent of food ingredients or nutritional value. Ultra-processed foods generally contain ‘acellular nutrients’ — nutrients that lack the source ingredient’s natural intact food structure — and other industrial ingredients and additives that together may increase the risk of weight gain, diabetes and other chronic diseases,” said study co-author Dariush Mozaffarian, the Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts.
Only a few countries around the world directly regulate ultra-processed foods, but those that do have restricted their consumption in schools and recommend eating fewer ultra-processed foods in dietary guidelines. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which govern the country’s food and nutrition policies, do not currently mention ultra-processed foods. However, the Scientific Advisory Committee for the 2025-2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines is tasked with evaluating research related to the consumption of ultra-processed foods in relation to weight gain.
To understand how U.S. policymakers have already addressed ultra-processed foods in policy, the researchers gathered all federal and state statutes, bills, resolutions, ordinances, proposed rules and reports from the Congressional Research Services related to “highly processed” and “ultra-processed” foods.
They identified only 25 policies — eight at the federal level and 17 at the state level — that have been proposed or approved between 1983 and 2022. The vast majority (22 out of 25) have been proposed or approved since 2011, showing that US policymaking on ultra-processed foods is fairly recent.
US policy on ultra-processed foods tends to cite them as incompatible with healthy eating. Most of the policies involved healthy eating for children, including limiting ultra-processed foods in schools and teaching children about nutrition. Another common theme was the relatively higher price of healthy foods versus ultra-processed foods. Only one policy (a Massachusetts school food bill) actually defined ultra-processed foods, and three policies attempted to address the broader food environment by incentivizing small retailers to stock up on healthy foods.
“Emerging US policy language on ultra-processed foods is consistent with international policies on the subject. We urge more robust discussion and consideration of ultra-processed foods for future policy-making,” added Pomeranz. “The United States should consider processing levels in schools’ food policies — especially to update the ‘Smart Snack’ rules — and to ensure that U.S. dietary guidelines reflect the evidence on ultra-processed foods and health.”
More information:
Jennifer L. Pomeranz et al, US policy on ultra-processed foods, 1980-2022, American journal of preventive medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2023.07.006
Quote: Ultra-processed foods largely missing from US food policy (2023, July 20) Retrieved July 21, 2023 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-ultra-processed-foods-largely-food-policy.html
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