In France, ultra-transformed foods represent a third of our daily diet.
Food transformations have enriched the offer, but products become more difficult to understand for consumers. In France, ultra-transformed foods represent an average of 30% of daily calorie intakes. These are foods that have undergone numerous industrial processes and which contain ingredients or additives that we would not find in our kitchens, such as emulsifiers or exhausters of taste. According to Isabelle Souchon, research director at INRAE, “Their manufacture meets objectives of sustainability, conservation and practicality. Manufacturers rely on complex formulations to smooth the variability of raw materials and guarantee constant production“.
Recognizing an ultra-transformed food is complex, because this is not limited to its composition alone. Generally, these products are distinguished by their attractive and colorful outline, and above all, by a list of long ingredients and difficult to decipher. There are often artificial components such as glucose-fructose syrup, soy lecithin, modified starch, nitrites, or codes like E300, E129. These ingredients are added to improve flavor, taste, appearance, and product conservation. You can cite as example sodas, blue cords, dehydrated soups, most industrial cakes and cookies, or cereal bars. Nutri-score, although useful, is not enough to identify them. As Isabelle Souchon indicates, “The more we have a bad nutri-score, the more the product is likely to be ultra-transformed“, but a good Nutri-Score does not exclude the presence of additives and complex processes.
The consumption of ultra-transformed food has been associated with several health risks, due to their often poor nutritional composition. These products are generally richer in sugar, salt and fat, and less provided in fiber, vitamins and minerals. An inserm study published in the British Medical Journal In particular, has revealed an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. According to this research, an increase of 10% of these foods in the diet is associated with an increase of 12% of the risk of cardiovascular disease. Other studies, such as that published in the journal EclinicalMedicine, have highlighted a link with overweight, obesity, hypertension, as well as a risk of depressive symptoms, digestive disorders, male infertility and mortality over-risk all causes.
In addition to cardiovascular risks, recent studies suggest a link between ultra-transformed foods and increased risk of cancer. A study by scientists of the International Center for Research on Cancer (CIRC), published in The Lancet Planetary Health, suggests that the simple fact of replacing 10% of these products with poorly processed foods could reduce the risk of several types of cancer, including those of the head and neck, the epidermoid carcinomas of the esophagus, the rectum and the liver cancer. These results underline the importance of favoring simple and whole food for our health and recall that the industrial treatment of food has consequences that go far beyond simple practicality.
