Table 1 Descriptors extracted from open-ended responses to “What do you think the term “ultra-processed” means?” (n = 1,004)
Characteristic | Descriptors mentioned in response† | n† | %† |
|---|---|---|---|
Lack of whole foods | Processing • Very/heavily processed • Industrially/chemically/machine processed • Transformed, altered, modified, manipulated, refined, treated • Many processing stages or phases • Processing methods such as blending, grinding, crushing, pre-cooking | 567 | 56% |
Loss of original foods • Lack or loss of original/natural food, “base,” or “material” • Substances derived from whole foods or “food-like” • Product made of “leftovers” or “remade” | 32 | 3% | |
Synthetic substances | Additives • Additives, preservatives, colors, aromas, emulsifiers, thickeners, flavorings • Chemicals, unnatural/artificial/lab-made/industrial ingredients, unfamiliar ingredients/not used in home cooking | 141 | 14% |
Unnaturalness • Unnatural, synthetic, artificial product | 44 | 4% | |
Unhealthy products | Nutrient content • Excessive nutrients of concern (i.e., calories, fat/oils, sugar, sodium/salt) • Nutritionally poor or unbalanced • Lacking beneficial nutrients (i.e., vitamins, minerals, fiber) | 63 | 6% |
Unhealthfulness • Unhealthy or bad/harmful/dangerous to health • Foods that should be avoided for health reasons | 70 | 7% | |
Other UPF characteristics | Large number of ingredients • Large number of ingredients or more than 5 ingredients • Mixing of many foods or ingredients | 48 | 5% |
Convenience • Ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, pre-cooked/fried/prepared, frozen • Fast, practical, efficient, convenient, portable, easy to prepare | 57 | 6% | |
Non-UPF characteristics | Food-related but not UPF characteristic • Food characteristics that are not part of UPF definition (e.g., GMOs, non-organic foods, sanitized/sterilized foods, canned foods, foods containing seasonings/condiments, fermented foods, foods containing hormones, vacuum-sealed foods, non-fresh foods) • Example of UPF used as a definition rather than as example (e.g., equating UPFs to processed meats and providing no other definition) • Foods that are re-sold/put back on the shelf • Any other food-related interpretation | 44 | 4% |
Positive interpretation • Assessment of product quality as good • Well prepared or sophisticated product | 36 | 4% | |
Outdated/Surpassed (“Ultrapassado”) • Old, outdated, no longer used, out of season, beyond limit, overcome limit, beyond necessary | 47 | 5% | |
Non-food related • Response does not seem to relate to foods/beverages in any clear way • Response does not seem to make sense in the context of the question • Response refers to processes/processing but is phrased in a way that does not seem to refer to foods/beverages | 58 | 6% | |
Doesn’t know or didn’t answer • Response states that participant does not know or is unsure what UPFs are • Response states “nothing” (i.e., the term ultraprocessed means nothing to the participant) • Participant did not answer the question (missing response) | 49 | 5% |