Ultra-processed foods: a practical guide to identifying them and making better choices

Grocery shopping often means choosing, in just a few minutes, between hundreds of products that look very similar. “Wholegrain”, “natural”, “no added sugar”, “high protein”, “light”: packaging is increasingly filled with messages designed to catch our attention, but how much do they really tell us about what we are buying?

One category receiving growing attention is ultra-processed foods, or UPFs.

But learning to identify them doesn’t mean having to cut out everything that comes in a package.

On the contrary, understanding the difference between unprocessed, processed and ultra-processed foods can help you make more informed choices without giving up convenience.

What are ultra-processed foods?

To understand what qualifies as an ultra-processed food, we can refer to the NOVA classification, which divides foods into four groups based on the degree and purpose of processing.

In simple terms:

• unprocessed or minimally processed foods: fruit, vegetables, legumes, eggs, meat, fish and nuts;
• processed culinary ingredients: oil, butter, salt and sugar;
• processed foods: some types of bread, cheese, canned foods and other products made by modifying basic foods;
• ultra-processed foods: industrial formulations generally made with several ingredients and substances used, among other purposes, to alter taste, texture, appearance or shelf life.

The term “ultra-processed”, therefore, does not simply mean “packaged”.

A can of chickpeas containing water and salt, plain frozen vegetables or a pack of nuts can all be convenient foods without being equivalent to an ultra-processed snack.

Why are ultra-processed foods getting so much attention?

Growing scientific interest in these foods is linked to their increasing presence in our diets and to associations observed between higher UPF consumption and several adverse health outcomes.

An umbrella review published in the BMJ in 2024 analysed 45 meta-analyses involving almost 10 million participants, finding associations between greater exposure to ultra-processed foods and numerous health outcomes. However, the authors also highlighted the need for further research to clarify the underlying mechanisms and establish causal relationships.

That is why it is important to avoid oversimplifying the issue: not all ultra-processed foods are the same, and overall diet quality remains key.

The goal, then, should not be to create a list of “forbidden” foods, but to understand how to identify products that may be better consumed less frequently.

How can you identify an ultra-processed food?

The simplest approach is to turn the package around and read the ingredient list.

You don’t need to know what every additive on the label does. Start by asking yourself three questions.

1. Is the ingredient list very complex?

A particularly long ingredient list can be a first clue, but it is not enough on its own to classify a food as ultra-processed.

What matters is understanding which ingredients are present and what role they play in the product.

2. Are there ingredients I wouldn’t normally use in everyday cooking?

The presence of flavourings, colourings, emulsifiers, sweeteners, thickeners or other technological ingredients may indicate a more complex formulation.

Again, though, the presence of a single additive does not automatically mean that a product is ultra-processed.

3. What role does this food play in my diet?

This may be the most important question.

A food you eat occasionally is not the same as a product you reach for several times a day.

Packaged foods: which ones should you choose?

One of the most common misconceptions is that reducing ultra-processed foods means cutting out all packaged foods.

That’s not the case.

At the supermarket, there are plenty of convenient options that can make it easier to maintain a balanced diet.

Canned legumes

Chickpeas, beans and lentils can be a practical choice when you don’t have time to cook dried legumes.

Check the ingredient list and, whenever possible, choose products with a simple composition. You can also rinse them under running water before eating them to remove some of the salt from the canning liquid.

Frozen vegetables

Freezing is a preservation method and does not automatically make a food ultra-processed.

Plain frozen vegetables, without added seasonings or other ingredients, can be a convenient way to always have vegetables on hand.

Nuts

Plain walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts are examples of minimally processed foods.

When choosing flavoured, sweetened or heavily salted products, however, it is worth checking the label carefully.

Yogurt

Plain natural yogurt can have a very simple ingredient list.

If you choose fruit-flavoured or flavoured yogurt, compare the labels and check for added sugars and other ingredients.

Watch out for “health washing”

Not everything that looks healthy on the packaging necessarily is.

Words such as “fitness”, “high protein”, “natural”, “light”, “wholegrain” or “no added sugar” describe specific characteristics of a product, but they are not enough on their own to assess its overall quality.

A “high-protein” product, for example, can still have a very complex formulation.

That’s why it is always useful to distinguish between the message on the front of the pack and the nutritional information.

The packaging tells you what the manufacturer wants you to notice.

The ingredient list helps you understand what you are actually buying.

5 simple ways to make more informed choices when shopping

You don’t need to completely overhaul your shopping cart.

Start with these five simple habits:

1. Fill your cart with simple foods first.

Fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, eggs, fish and other protein sources can form the foundation of your grocery shop.

2. Don’t be afraid of frozen foods.

Vegetables and other frozen foods can be a convenient and nutritionally valuable option.

3. Read the ingredients, not just the front of the package.

That’s where you’ll find the most useful information about what is actually in the product.

4. Compare similar products.

If you’re choosing between two yogurts, two breakfast cereals or two baked products, compare their ingredient lists and nutritional information.

5. Think about frequency.

You don’t need to eliminate every ultra-processed product. The goal can simply be to reduce habitual consumption and make more room for minimally processed foods.

The simplest rule? Start with the original food

A practical way to navigate supermarket shelves is to ask yourself:

“How much does this product still resemble the food it comes from?”

An apple is still an apple.

Canned chickpeas are still chickpeas.

Frozen vegetables are still vegetables.

A product made with numerous ingredients, flavourings and substances used to alter its texture, taste and appearance is much further removed from the original food.

This is not a scientific rule for classifying foods, but it can be a useful practical tool for making more informed choices.

What about ProLon? The role of food awareness

Learning how to read food labels and understand the degree of processing of different foods is part of a broader approach to nutrition: knowing what we eat so we can make more informed choices.

This principle also fits within the research surrounding the Fasting-Mimicking Diet (FMD), developed by the research group led by Valter Longo.

The Fasting-Mimicking Diet is a five-day dietary protocol designed to provide a specific amount and composition of nutrients during the programme.

The ProLon kit makes it possible to follow the protocol in a structured, pre-portioned format.

The connection with ultra-processed foods is therefore not that ProLon is an “anti-UPF diet”.

The idea is much simpler: a mindful approach to nutrition means knowing what we are consuming, in what quantities and for what purpose.

And that applies both when we are doing our grocery shopping and when we are following a structured nutritional protocol.

Ultra-processed foods: perfection isn’t the goal

Reducing your intake of ultra-processed foods does not mean having to make everything from scratch or giving up convenience.

It means learning to recognise the differences.

A package does not automatically mean that a food is ultra-processed. Likewise, the word “natural” on a package does not, by itself, guarantee that a product is the best choice.

Read the ingredients. Compare products. Prioritise simple, minimally processed foods. And always look at your diet as a whole.

Because making better choices at the supermarket is not about filling your cart with restrictions.

It’s about knowing what you are choosing and why.