It can improve food safety, extend shelf life and even improve the availability of nutrients. Advances in food science have brought new techniques that enable faster production at lower cost, resulting in more shelf-stable products. The challenge is to understand if certain product characteristics or types of processing have effects on health. Current scientific debate is particularly concerned with diets high in so-called ultra-processed foods and their effects on health.

As diet is important to health, and since diets have changed and continue to change, there is a need to investigate potential links between ultra-processed foods, overall diets, and health. The EU cardiovascular health plan: the Safe Hearts Plan already highlights the importance of clear information for consumers to help them make healthier food choices. It also calls for a review of the evidence by the Scientific Advice Mechanism.

In the light of the above, the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) is asked to provide an opinion on the topic of ‘ultra-processed food’ as per the questions described below.

With regard to supporting flagships 2 and 4 of the Safe Hearts Plan, and considering the Vision for Agriculture and Food and the Strategy for European Life Sciences, what scientific considerations should underpin EU policies in fostering healthier diets in view of what is known about the health effects of consuming so-called ‘ultra-processed foods’ (UPF)?In answering this question, the following sub-questions should also be addressed:

• Which are the prominent definitions for UPF and classifications including a UPF category, and to which extent can they constitute an appropriate and effective basis for policymaking?
• What is the current state of scientific knowledge about the health effects of UPF?
• What are the patterns of UPF consumption in the EU?
• Based on available scientific evidence, which criteria/markers could be used to develop a useful assessment of the health effects of these foods? Such criteria/markers should be specific enough to inform work aiming to empower consumers to shift towards healthier diets and to contribute to targeting other national or EU wide public health measures that improve dietary intakes. To identify those criteria/markers, the following should be considered, among others: degree/type of ultra-processing, energy density, nutrients, ingredients (e.g. food additives and flavourings), portion sizes and consumption frequencies, and the role of individual foods in providing essential nutrients and contributing to meeting dietary intake recommendations.

The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) has also been asked to produce an Opinion on other aspects of ‘ultra-processed food’. For details, please see the website of the Ethics Advice Mechanism.