"A diverse group of food advocates, farmers, chefs and scientists is urging the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to define ultra-processed foods through a lens of public health, including what’s added or taken away from foods during processing, as well as any new risks introduced. 

This new way of looking at heavily processed foods, including sugary drinks, bacon, hot dogs, lunch meats, many frozen foods, and chips, candy and other snacks, could “transform the US diet from one of the least healthy to most healthy in the world,” they say.  Such foods are linked to obesity, heart problems, diabetes and some cancers. 

Current classification of ultra-processed foods mostly relies on looking “at the bad things in a multi-ingredient processed food … the more additives, emulsifiers, flavorants, colorings, preservatives, the more likely it is to be properly classified in the ultra-processed food category,” said Charles Benbrook, a former research professor who previously served as executive director of the National Academy of Sciences board on agriculture.  However, in a letter to the FDA last month, Benbrook and others said it is equally important to understand what healthy nutrients are lost and what new health risks have been introduced via processing, such as pesticide residues."

Brian Bienkowski reports for The New Lede November 3, 2025. [2]