Ultra-processed foods are foods that have undergone industrial processing and often contain ingredients not found in home kitchens.
They contain high levels of preservatives, additives, humectants, artificial colourings, and flavourings.
The British Heart Foundation defines ultra-processed foods as products that “typically have five or more ingredients” and “have industrial substances”.
For example, frozen ready meals, crisps, store-bought cakes, sausages, chicken nuggets, salad dressings, and cereals can all constitute UPF.
Other examples include sweetened drinks, ice cream, sweets and chocolate, and packaged meat pastries such as pies and pasties.
Spirits such as gin, rum, and whisky are also considered UPF because of the distillation process.
The only way of identifying UPF is by reading the packaging label. If you see a long list of ingredients that you don’t recognise, it is likely heavily processed.
Other indicators include high fat, sugar, and salt content, or a suspiciously long shelf life (except for UHT milk).