It’s the latest headline-grabbing health issue: ultra-processed food and how bad it is for you. Yet it makes up about 60% of the calories British adults consume, so how easy is it to cut back… or even eliminate completely? Food writer Sue Quinn took on the challenge. Here’s how she got on
I almost always cook from scratch and avoid additives where possible, so giving up ultra-processed food (UPF) was going to be a breeze for me. Wasn’t it? So I thought, anyway. I started smugly, steering my supermarket trolley around the outer aisles where much of the fruit, veg, meat and dairy – whole, unprocessed foods – are stocked. But I quickly realised my household consumes far more UPFs than I’d considered.
My kids were coming home for the holidays and they love food that’s quick and easy to prepare before or after going out. That means pasta with pesto from a jar, fish finger sandwiches, baked beans on toast, instant noodles, frozen pizzas and breakfast cereal. We all love condiments, too, like ketchup, spicy sauces, mayonnaise and punchy chilli crisps. All potentially heavy UPF territory.
CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE: THE SUPERMARKET
That first UPF-free shopping trip took me considerably longer than usual. Dr Chris van Tulleken, in his book Ultra-Processed People, explains that UPFs contain substances you don’t find in standard kitchens, like emulsifiers, stabilisers, artificial colours and flavours.
To spot these, I had to scrutinise ingredients labels carefully – a time-consuming and frustrating process. There were mixed results. Most fish fingers aren’t UPF and, while Weetabix are (they’re made with malted barley extract), Dr van Tulleken says this is fine, so I added them to my trolley.
But I couldn’t find a non-UPF pesto, and the kids’ favourite noodles, which come with seasoning sachets, were off the menu due to the long list of additives.
There were grey areas, too. What exactly are ‘herb extracts’ in tomato ketchup? I wasn’t sure, but they sounded like additives, so I opted for a pricier organic version, which was definitely okay. I had to buy organic baked beans, too, as the standard kind contain modified cornstarch, which makes them UPF.
Using the Open Food Facts app [see box, right], I found a brand of frozen pizzas that counted as processed (they contain some processed culinary ingredients, like salt and vegetable oil) but weren’t technically UPF. Flavoured crisps weren’t an option (artificial flavourings), but plain salted on
