Reference dossier UPF · NOVA · Nutri-Score · nutrition policies
Ultra-processed foods: the debate reshaping the industry.
The UPF debate is no longer a peripheral scientific controversy: it now shapes nutrition policies (WHO, PNNS, Belgian recommendations, US Dietary Guidelines), mainstream media coverage and buyer expectations. This dossier connects our sourced insights — the studies that matter, the frameworks coming into force, and how a food brand can hold its position without denying the science.
The NOVA scale, in one diagram
NOVA 1Unprocessed or minimally processed foods
NOVA 2Culinary ingredients
NOVA 3Processed foods
NOVA 4Ultra-processed foods
NOVA classification (Monteiro et al.) · Read the insight: the Lancet series and ingredients
01 — The science
What the studies actually establish.
From the Lancet to controlled trials: the solid results, their limits, and the nuance the public debate flattens — processing, matrix and formulation are not synonyms.
- Ultra-processed foods: the Lancet calls time on an economic model
- At equal calories, ultra-processed food still drives weight gain
- UPF and early-onset colorectal cancer: the study that reshuffles the deck
- Additive combinations and type-2 diabetes risk
- Snacking: the reward circuit fires before hunger does
- Food matrix: why the whole food wins
02 — The policies
The frameworks arriving, market by market.
- EAT-Lancet 2025: the strategic GPS for the ingredients industry
- PNNS5: a turning point for food policy in France
- Belgian dietary recommendations 2025: a European tidal wave ahead
- School canteens: the new WHO framework
- US Dietary Guidelines: the coming revolution
- FDA front-of-pack: the delay complicating manufacturers’ strategy
- Child obesity: the UNICEF alarm
03 — The strategy