Guest Blog: Jim Taschetta – not all UPFs are created equal

Nearly 19 million UK adults are avoiding eating ultra-processed foods (UPFs), according to recent research, with another nine million considering doing the same — despite UPFs making up 57% of the average UK adults’ diet. So what has prompted this dramatic shift?

Media headlines often portray UPFs as a public health threat and create controversy without acknowledging that processed foods vary greatly in their nutritional makeup. This simplistic approach has led to consumer confusion as UPF is being used to refer to any food that has undergone some form of processing. By dismissing all UPFs as unhealthy, we risk losing out on the opportunity for innovation and the benefits they bring to our food systems.

The full picture

Processing helps ensure that foods have a long shelf life to survive the journey from production to consumers. This is increasingly important as more than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas and cannot get food directly from the source. Additionally, today’s food processing technologies mean that we can ensure products are affordable, safe to eat, scalable, convenient, and palatable, which are critical to feeding a growing global population.

While we can recognise that some processing methods may remove fibre and nutrients from food, technology and innovation also mean we can create nutritionally dense food, while embracing the advantages it brings to consumers worldwide. For example, some processed and ultra-processed foods are very nutritious, such as plant-based breads and cereals that are high in fibre and micronutrients.

Manufacturers are already utilising available technologies to create more beneficial foods, such as Superbrewed Food, which has developed a probiotic cultured protein that can significantly increase protein content without affecting taste.

By recognising that some UPFs bring benefits to our food systems, we can be incentivised to use processing technologies and new ingredients to make products healthier, rather than categorising them as bad solely based on their degree of processing.

UPFs for the future

If we want to continue feeding our growing global population sustainably, UPFs will have a role to play. However, we must continue to evolve how they are made by consciously using available technologies to create more nutritionally dense and beneficial food. In parallel, manufacturers will need to educate consumers on how to make more informed choices.

To effectively adopt innovations and technologies, we must bring together expertise from diverse players collaborating and integrating these advances into our food systems.

MISTA, the world’s leading food innovation platform and a Givaudan entity, was created to bring together ingredient suppliers and CPG companies to co-create better solutions.

MISTA is conducting projects to improve the nutritional profile of processed foods, extend shelf life, reduce waste, and make healthy options more readily available and affordable. Through collaboration, we can vastly expand the number of processed foods that are nutritious, functional and delicious.

About the author 

Jim has over 35 years of experience in building businesses and brands, with senior leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Visa, as well as experience in scaling early-stage companies. He has extensive international experience, including seven years living and working in Argentina and Mexico. In addition to his role at MISTA, Jim serves as a strategic advisor to several start-ups and is the board chair of Naturally NorCal.