British Nutrition Foundation Position Statement on Ultra Processed Foods

Recently the British Nutrition Foundation has published a policy statement on Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF) outlining the current debates around classification of foods according to degree of processing 

• The well-defined detrimental health effects of energy-dense, nutrient poor dietary patterns, and benefits to overall health of dietary patterns higher in fibre, vitamins and minerals, based on nutrient-rich foods.  This knowledge forms the basis of national and international dietary guidelines.
• The need for better understanding of possible mechanisms linking UPF to health outcomes as the current literature is based largely on observational studies, and highlight concern about the usefulness of UPF as a tool to identify healthier products.  
• The difficulty in dis-entangling the observed associations from the well-established health outcomes of less healthy dietary patterns and lifestyles and lack of clear evidence of a causal association between processing per se and health.
• The importance of food processing.