What Are Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF)?
UPF contribute approximately 67% of total energy intake for U.S. youth aged 2 to 19 and about 57% for adults in the U.S.¹⁻³
What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?
A large part of the U.S. food supply is made up of ultra-processed foods. These foods often have ingredients you wouldn’t find in a home kitchen, like artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, and other industrial additives.
Scientists use the Nova classification system to categorize foods by how much they’ve been processed:
Nova Group 4: Ultra-processed foods
Nova Groups 1–3: Unprocessed/minimally processed, processed culinary ingredients, and processed.
Ultra-processed foods are linked to weight gain and chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, cancer, and cognitive decline.
UPF are industrial formulations that contain ingredients (i.e.,high-fructose corn syrup, modified starches) and/or additives (i.e., flavors, colors, artificial sweeteners) not commonly found in your kitchen. For a more detailed description, see Nova Group 4 below.
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Why We Must Decrease Ultra-Processed Foods
The American Medical Association published a viewpoint, April 1, 2025 titled: The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines—Time for Real Progress by Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH
“If we were a hale and hearty populace, enjoying and thriving on the fruits of the earth, it would be reasonable to wait for more research. But when 3 of 4 adults have overweight or obesity, 1 of 2 adults and 1 of 4 teenagers have diabetes or prediabetes, and only 7% of adults are metabolically healthy, we face a national nutrition crisis requiring urgent action. Diet-related diseases further drive enormous burdens of health care spending, lost productivity, military unpreparedness, reduced economic competitiveness, and health disparities—with the latter well highlighted in the DGAC report.
Based on the current evidence and high levels of consumption, it is time to recommend that people in the US eat fewer UPFs.”
The Non-UPF program defines UPF as Nova Group 4 foods. Therefore, any food that falls into Nova groups 1 through 3 is considered a non-ultra-processed food.
The Nova classification system helps identify Ultra-processed foods.
It is widely used by researchers as a standardized framework to ensure consistency in studying and understanding the impact of ultra-processed food consumption.
It categorizes foods based on the extent and degree to which they have been industrially processed.
UPF research is evolving, and new food substances deemed edible are entering the market, expanding Nova Group 4 foods.
To learn more about leading theories on how ultra-processed foods harm health and the public policies aimed at reducing those harms, explore our advocacy partner, the Consumer Federation of America's report, Ultra-processed Foods: Why They Matter and What to Do About It.
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