Ultra-Processed Foods

What is the deal with so-called Ultra-Processed Foods?

 Good question. How much time do you have? Ultra-Processed Foods—call them UPF for short—are part of a relatively recent NOVA scale. The four NOVA-scale categories are:

      1.     Unprocessed or minimally processed foods such as lettuce, fresh fruits such as blueberries, bananas, and avocados

2.     Processed culinary ingredients created by pressing, refining, grinding, or milling, such as olive oil or flour made from grains or nuts

3.     Processed foods that are altered from their natural state by the addition of salt, sugar, oil, or other substances, such as aged cheeses

4.     Ultra-processed foods that contain added ingredients to preserve texture or shelf stability or artificial colors and flavors, such as many packaged foods. Their list of ingredients typically include more than five ingredients, some of which are not commonly used in culinary preparation. More tomorrow.