I need a list of ULTRA processed food and processed food

[LaurieFairyCake]

Internet searching just throws up people arguing about it

Is the (agreeable) difference that processed food is completely recognisable raw ingredients turned into something

• like fruit turned into jam/yeast into marmite

And ULTRA processed food is occasional ingredients with a longer list of additives - stabilisers/gum/E numbers/ ?

Basically I want to be able to compile my own list of food to avoid - and find replacements for things I eat every day (crisps that aren't crisps like Quavers and Wotsits)

And is Ryvita a processed food - basically baked wheat ? But not ultra processed? - I eat them every day !

Easy way to identify UPFs is a long list of ingredients on the packet.
Processed foods I would say have minimal ingredients and you know what they are. For example: butter, cheese, yogurt, whole grain bread.
Always best just to stick to as many whole foods as possible.

There isn't really a definitive list.

its a case of looking at the ingredients and using your own judgement - if you were to attempt to make it yourself from scratch are there ingredients in it that don't sound like something you would easily be able to pick up at Tesco?

if the answer is yes it's likely to be pretty processed.

even easier (in my opinion) just mostly try to buy things that don't need an ingredients list in the first place to eat as your main diet and have the odd packet of quavers if you like them rather than trying to find an alternative.

Anything that has been through a process is processed yes ryvita is processed

I get (obviously) that Ryvita is processed, what I'm trying to work out is it an ULTRA processed food

As I eat them everyday for lunch

Google it

When DD was starting out buying her own food, we agreed if it had more than 10 ingredients, or had ingredients she couldn't pronounce then there was a good chance it was a once in a while food!

We combined that with "can you make it at home"

Tesco went through a stage when it's own brand was made with "ingredients" rather than chemicals.....tbh over covid I gave up a bit but I should start checking again (eg pasta sauce with tomatoes peppers onions garlic lemon juice salt - they had no listed E numbers, but may have used the everyday words for E numbers)

I'd use a bit of common sense. There's no definitive list. It's a bit like what's vegan... Some people consider avocados to be vegan, some don't. Because it's an idea/philosophy rather than a hard set rule.

As @pastabest says, if there's weird ingredients, or an unusually large amount, then I'd consider it UPF.

The obvious things like Cheerios, cheap ham slices, quavers etc.' I'd replace those with something like cornflakes/porridge, proper ham, and "proper" crisps, like Kettle style.

Then you're most of the way there and made huge improvements.

I'd consider Ryvita as processed and not ultra processed and just eat it tbh it's flour and salt...

Original Ryvita has just rye flour and salt listed as ingredients. You could make them yourself pretty easily I’m guessing so I’d class them as processed, rather than UPF. There is no definitive definition - I stick to the “do the ingredients sound like food” and “is this replicable at home” rule of thumb.

You might like this thread but don’t think it
specifically answers your question.

www.cuisinefiend.com/amp/756/rye-crispbread

If you want to make them yourself... If it's that important to you!

Caveat: not a dietician

But I think Ryvita has only two ingredients (some of the flavoured ones have three or four), and is whole grain, so I think of it as processed rather than ultra-processed.

I think of UPFs as things like Haribo, white sliced bread, McDonalds burgers, Mars or Snickers bars, or those protein bars that are covered in fake chocolate and called things like GRENADE.

McDonalds burgers

Not an advocate for McDonald's, but only the bun and sauce is UPF in a burger

Rule of thumb I use is if I can't pronounce an ingredient (I.e. it's artificial) I try and avoid, everything else (even "processed" in moderation.

As an aside, I read this in an article this morning about UPFs and I was

"ice-cream bars have chocolate and caramel perfumes added, as the ice cream itself is too cold to smell but the companies want you to have a sensory hit the moment you unwrap them?"

I've been avoiding UPFs for years. Not religiously but doing my best. You need to look at the ingredients list on the packet.
For example, these plain tortillas from Sainsbury's:

INGREDIENTS: Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Palm Oil, Humectant: Glycerol; Raising Agents: Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate; Sugar, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid; Emulsifier: Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Preservative: Calcium Propionate; Salt, Wheat Starch, Flour Treatment Agent: L-Cysteine

VERY ultra processed.

Why aren’t avocados vegan?

The angry chef

But that isn't necessarily harmful. Why all the moral panic about ingredients which are hard to pronounce? You can make ordinary food carcinogenic by burning/charring it apparently.

I’m also wondering how avocados can be anything but vegan?

Me too?

I take medicine every day and that is totally ultra processed. I know it’s good to eat more naturally but you can’t avoid it all.

@LaurieFairyCake this pdf really explains it with a list of foods using the Nova guide, you want page 13

www.fao.org/3/ca5644en/ca5644en.pdf

It uses Nova which divides foods into
Group 1 - Unprocessed or minimally processed foods
Group 2 - Processed culinary ingredients
Group 3 - Processed foods
Group 4 - Ultra-processed food and drink products

We found it after listening to that podcast about the identical twin doctors.

@BarrelOfOtters2 Great article - thank you for the link.

I try to avoid things that have more than 5 ingredients on the back. If I want some crisps for example I’ll have Proper chips salted lentil chips which only have 5 ingredients.
You canget bread/wraps that have very basic ingredients in. Crosta Mollica/Jason’s etc
I make most things from scratch anyway, or make my own granola if I want anything like that.
Obviously doesn’t make up for a kit Kat chunky though!

Meant to include world.openfoodfacts.org/nova

If you don't know what it is and can't buy what's been put in then don't eat it

I also want accountability for all animal products- exact farm etc

If it has seed oils in it, stay away. Start there, it’s the easiest thing to begin with. Read every label.

That is an excellent article!