Ultra Processed Foods

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Ultra processing is about making fake versions of those real processed foods. Instead of using dairy fat, you can take plant oils which are liquid and spoil quickly. You can combine them with colours and emulsifiers and water to make margarine - an ultra processed food. Even if you're buying the seeded granary loaf with rye and pumpkin bits in it, it's still ultra processed. It will very likely have an emulsifier called Datem or E472E. This keeps our bread very cheap compared to that expensive sourdough.

Sliced supermarket bread, ham, cheese, crisps, a fruit-flavoured yoghurt and a fizzy drink. If this sounds like a standard lunch, you’re not alone. The average person in the UK gets more than 50% of their calories from ultra-processed foods – otherwise known as ‘industrially produced edible substances’. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Chris van Tulleken about what ultra-processed foods are really made of, how they have become a major part of our diets, and the impact they are having on our health. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod