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Background and challenges

Ultra-processed products now account for more than 35% of daily caloric intake in France and more than 50% in some developed countries. Often of poor nutritional quality with more fat, sugar and salt and less fibre and vitamins, they are associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and obesity. However, it is not clear from the current literature whether these adverse health effects are due solely to poor nutritional quality or whether the level of processing is also an aggravating factor. Furthermore, the food chain, from production to consumption, is responsible for 20-30% of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. Although the scientific literature focuses on the environmental impacts of food production, often contrasting animal products with plant products, the share of ultra-processed products in this carbon footprint is still unknown.

Goals

The objective of this project is to better characterise ultra-processed products and to draw up a more complete and precise inventory of the consumption of these products in France. The first step is to acquire a better understanding of the evolution of the consumption of ultra-processed products as defined by the NOVA classification over the last twenty years. The researchers will look at this evolution also on the basis of a new food processing score, the Process-Score, which is based on the technological routes and specific recipes of the products and not only on the presence of additives or specific ingredients as proposed by the NOVA classification. Via this indicator, it is then possible to dissociate the effects of formulation from those linked to processing. The continuous scale of this score will allow a more precise description and greater discrimination of products within the same family. In the long term, this work will make it possible to determine whether the health effects of ultra-processed products stem solely from their nutritional quality or also from the degree of processing. Finally, these analyses will help to understand the determinants of consumption choices. These choices depend on the heterogeneous preferences of consumers for product characteristics. The researchers also plan to explore the diversity of sensory images and perceptions that consumers have of these ultra-processed products and to analyse their effects on consumption choices. On the other hand, the heterogeneity of preferences may also result from demographic factors. The originality of this work lies in the joint evaluation of the effects of the different factors (product characteristics, perceptions, socio-demographic characteristics).

INRAE units involved

• Toulouse School of Economics
• Alimentation et sciences sociales
• Food and Bioproduct Engineering Research Unit
• Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d'Origine Végétale
• Centre Maurice Halbwachs