What is ultra-processed food?

You might be hearing a lot about ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, and how we should all be avoiding them.

But you might be struggling with figuring out what exactly IS an ultra-processed food. Sweetened drinks, sure. What about bread? Yoghurt?

Norman and Tegan unpack why it isn’t a simple question, and where the evidence stands on the health consequences.

*A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated representatives of the food industry served on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) board. This error was corrected on 12/08/2026.

References:

• Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health - The Lancet series
• Diet quality and processed foods – Food Standards Australia and New Zealand
• Most of the Foods We Eat Are Ultra-Processed. Are They All Unhealthy? - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Trends of obesity and underweight in older children and adolescents in the United States, Brazil, China, and Russia
• Ultra-processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system
• The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing
• Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses
• Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake
• The collapse of the food matrix: how ultra-processed foods impact satiety and metabolism by altering physical structure beyond nutrient composition

If you enjoyed this episode, check these out!

• Is gluten really the enemy?
• Why is everyone suddenly talking about seed oils?
• Why Norman won't shut up about the Mediterranean diet

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