Know What You Buy: Most Processed Foods Ranked

Consuming large amounts of ultra-processed foods may harm our health, but not all foods that undergo processing are inherently bad. A new ranking tool of foods sold in popular U.S. grocery stores may help consumers make health-conscious choices.

There has been an increasing awareness of the risks of consuming excessive amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which are mostly made from substances extracted from foods like fats and starches. Some also contain oils, artificial flavors, or stabilizers. In other words, UPFs have ingredients we wouldn't use to cook at home.

Because they are highly palatable and affordable, these foods have become a large part of our diets. In the United States, UPFs account for nearly 60% of energy intake.

Consuming large amounts of UPFs has been linked to 32 types of health problems, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

However, not all food processing is bad. For centuries and across different cultures, processing has helped make foods more suitable for consumption, ensuring food safety and nutritional value.

Food classification systems like NOVA have been created to help consumers distinguish minimally processed foods from UPFs.

However, some critics say NOVA does not accurately categorize food products by the level of processing; rather, it considers the quantity of ingredients contained in the food. This, according to critics, dismisses the proven benefits of diets that include the right mix of foods at all levels of processing.

AI-powered ranking tool

A study published in Nature Food in January describes a new tool that may help consumers navigate supermarket shelves and choose healthier options.

Researchers used data from GroceryDB, a database with over 50,000 food items sold by the major U.S. grocery stores Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods, showing the degree of processing of food items and their potential alternatives.

They created an artificial intelligence-powered and fully automated tool that assigns a product a food processing score (FPro). The tool predicts manual labels of processing techniques based on a food item's overall nutrient profile and translates the nutritional content of a food item into its degree of processing.

Consumers can check the FPro score of a specific food item at the True Food website, which is associated with the GroceryDB database.

UPFs dominate popular grocery stores

The study found that minimally processed products with low FPro scores represent only a small fraction of items at these stores, with most products being in the ultra-processed category (having high FPro scores).

However, the authors note that less processed products likely account for a proportionally larger portion of actual purchases.

The picture below shows the foods ranked according to their processing level. Pasta noodles, baby food, and spices are the least processed, while cookies, biscuits, and cakes have the highest FPro score.

The key findings of the study indicate:

• FPro scores in categories like jerky, popcorn, chips, bread, biscuits, and mac and cheese vary slightly, indicating that consumers have limited choices in terms of the degree of processing for these food groups.
• More considerable FPro variation is observed in categories like cereals, milk and milk substitutes, pasta noodles, and snack bars. This suggests that consumers have a wider choice of less processed foods.
• Some food categories, like pizza, mac and cheese, and popcorn, are highly processed in all stores. This is partly due to the use of substitute ingredients like "imitation mozzarella cheese" instead of "real mozzarella cheese."

The difference is even more profound in the category of soups and stews, where the price per calorie drops by 24.3% for a 10% increase in FPro. This trend is also observed in cakes, mac and cheese, and ice cream.

While ultra-processed-foods dominate popular grocery stores, there are some systematic differences between them:

• Whole Foods offers a greater selection of minimally processed items and fewer ultra-processed options, whereas Target has a particularly high proportion of ultra-processed products.
• Cereals sold at Whole Foods typically contain less sugar, fewer artificial and natural flavors, and added vitamins compared to those sold at Walmart and Target, where products are also more likely to include corn syrup.
• Whole Foods offers less processed soups and stews, yogurt and yogurt drinks, and milk and milk substitutes. In these categories, Walmart and Target offer foods with higher FPro values.

Aim for balance, an expert says

Kathleen Melanson, Ph.D., an associate professor of nutrition and food sciences and director of URI's Energy Balance Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island, emphasizes the importance of reading food labels when making purchasing decisions.

Consumers should look at both the nutrition facts panels (labels), which include information on fat, carbohydrates, and other nutrients, and the ingredient lists.

Foods should be considered in terms of many factors, including their processing or refinement, formulation, additives, and nutrient profiles. Minimizing artificial ingredients and choosing whole foods can be general guidelines.

Melanson

However, Melanson says the level of processing is only one piece of the puzzle, and all pieces matter. Consumers should aim for a balance of nutrients by eating more dietary fibers, proteins, unsaturated fats, and vitamins while limiting added sugars, excess sodium, and saturated fats.

A large 2023 study including over 266,000 participants found that while high consumption of UPFs was linked to cancer and cardiometabolic diseases, certain UPFs like bread, cereals, and plant-based alternatives did not raise the risk of these conditions, likely due to their fiber content.

Melanson says, "Foods come together to form overall dietary patterns, so any one food, particularly if it is consumed in moderation, should be viewed in the context of the overall diet."