The term “ultra-processed” has gained significant traction in recent years on social media, especially in the food and nutrition sector.
However, beyond companies and professional associations, this concept has also reached the general public, fueled by the rise of nutrition awareness on social media. The increased use of these terms, sometimes loosely, has led many people to confuse the term “ultra-processed” with other similar words that don’t actually have much in common.
Today, we will focus on explaining the differences between ultra-processed and ultra-frozen, shedding some light on how to distinguish between these concepts, which are sometimes confused.
What is ultra-processed?
According to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), an ultra-processed food is one obtained by combining ingredients that are themselves processed and additives, resulting in a food product that has been transformed multiple times and differs significantly from what we commonly recognize as food. In other words, it has undergone extensive processing, hence the prefix “ultra.” Therefore, in ultra-processed foods, it is extremely difficult to identify the natural ingredients used in their production.
The purpose of developing ultra-processed foods lies in an attempt to extend shelf life and increase palatability and acceptance among consumers. Additionally, these foods are intended for direct consumption, without the need for additional cooking, making them more appealing to consumers, especially given current lifestyle habits.
The classification of ultra-processed foods is supported by the NOVA (Brazil) and SIGA (France) systems, which assess foods and food products based on their degree of processing.
Despite the positive claims made by some food industries regarding the properties and benefits of ultra-processed foods, these foods occupy the worst possible position in terms of their impact on health in the mentioned classification systems. After multiple processes, maintaining their nutritional value becomes extremely challenging. Additionally, the nutritional quality of the raw materials used to produce processed ingredients is a crucial factor in assessing the quality and health effects of ultra-processed foods, beyond considering only the manufacturing processes. It’s essential to understand that the degree of processing cannot be directly linked to health effects independently of the food composition, as both factors are closely related.
Thus, the prevailing idea is that ultra-processed foods contain highly refined ingredients of questionable nutritional quality, whose consumption leads to various negative health effects.
Within the NOVA system, several studies have been conducted to analyze the effect of consuming ultra-processed foods on health, providing evidence of the link between the consumption of these foods and various diseases (cardiovascular, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and/or cancer, among others). Despite the results obtained from these studies, further research is needed to delve into the definition of ultra-processed food and factors related to its production, identifying risk factors and the real impact these foods have on health, as the current effect seems to be caused by specific food components rather than ultra-processed products as a whole. Therefore, epidemiological studies are necessary to provide evidence of the health effects of ultra-processed foods, beyond the specific ingredients that seem responsible for the harmful effects.
What is ultra-frozen?
On the other hand, ultra-frozen food is subjected to very low temperatures to extend its preservation or shelf life. It can be a product of either poor or good nutritional quality, as this is independent of the cold treatment applied and more related to the nutritional and freshness characteristics of the food at the time of freezing.
Ultra-frozen vegetables, for example, serve as immediate resources for consumers at home, providing a considerable time-saving advantage for busy days.
In the vegetable sector, ultra-frozen products are an incredible option for having a variety of pre-cut vegetables for more immediate consumption. Moreover, these vegetables are usually harvested at their optimal ripeness, so their nutritional characteristics can sometimes be even higher than those of traditionally consumed fresh vegetables. This is not only due to the characteristics of the food at the time of freezing but also to the effect that freezing has on the product’s structure, facilitating the cooking and/or digestion process after consumption.
It is important to learn to differentiate them
For all these reasons, it is crucial to distinguish between both concepts. Misinterpreting these terms may lead us to think that the wide variety of ultra-frozen vegetable products is of questionable nutritional quality simply because they have been subjected to low temperatures, whereas they are perfectly valid within the context of a healthy diet.
In this regard, ultra-processed foods do seem to be related to poor nutritional quality and negative health effects (although additional evidence is needed), but ultra-freezing doesn’t have to be, as it refers to an independent technological process that doesn’t worsen the nutritional quality of the food; it preserves it in the conditions and with the characteristics it had at the freezing process. This is the nuance, and it is what we should pay attention to when making purchasing choices to make our diet healthier.