🟡 How to think about processed foods

We talk about “processed food” like it’s one thing. It’s not.

That confusion is part of why nutrition discourse gets so messy and why people end up thinking everything in a package is automatically bad.

The NOVA classification system (from researchers at the University of São Paulo) flips the frame:

It doesn’t sort food by nutrients.

It sorts food by processing.

⇢ ecuphysicians.ecu.edu/w…

The four groups, are:

🟢 NOVA 1: Un/minimally processed

Whole foods with basic prep (washing, cutting, freezing, pasteurizing)

🟡 NOVA 2: Culinary ingredients

Oils, sugar, salt, things used to cook food, not replace it

🟠 NOVA 3: Processed foods

Simple combinations of 1 & 2 (bread, canned veg, basic preserved foods)

🔴 NOVA 4: Ultra-processed foods

Industrial formulations designed for shelf life & hyper-palatability (long ingredient lists, additives, lab-made inputs, not home-kitchen food)

Many countries now explicitly reference ultra-processed foods in their dietary guidelines or are actively moving in that direction. The shift isn’t “don’t process food.” It’s: understand how it’s processed and why.

This framing changes how people shop, cook, and think about food.