P ity the poor students as they head off to university, ready to survive until Christmas on instant noodles and breakfast cereal. The first doctor to raise the health alarm on ultra-processed foods believes it is time to put a tax on those noodles – and he even has ice-cream in his sights. Prof Carlos Augusto Monteiro says the strength of the evidence of the problems such food causes for “most body systems” leaves “no doubt” that governments need to act now.
“Strong policies, as soon as possible” on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are needed to reduce chronic diseases in countries across the globe, says Monteiro. If we wait another 10 years to act, “this will be a tragedy, because this has a cost”. His team at São Paulo University in Brazil came up with the Nova classification system for foods, first proposed in 2009 and now widely adopted.
It groups them by their level of processing, ranging from category one – unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as whole fruits and vegetables – to four: ultra-processed. This category is made up of food products that have been industrially manufactured , often using artificial flavours, emulsifiers and colouring . They include soft drinks and packaged snacks, and tend to be extremely palatable and high in calories but relatively low in nutrients.
Critics say UPF is an ill-defined category and existing health policies, such as those aimed at reducing sugar and salt consumption, are sufficient to deal with the p.