What are ultra-processed foods (UPFs)?
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are industrial food products that have been manufactured using combinations of refined ingredients, artificial additives, preservatives, colours, flavourings, and emulsifiers — substances that are rarely, if ever, found in a home kitchen. In short, they are foods that have been taken far from their original natural state. Think of the ready meal that lists twenty-plus ingredients you can't pronounce. The brightly coloured cereal aimed at children. The flavoured yoghurt with a shelf life that seems impossibly long. The diet snack bar engineered to taste indulgent without any of nature's goodness. These are all ultra-processed foods, and they now make up a significant proportion of what many people in the UK eat every single day. But why does this matter, and what does...