New SACN statement on processed foods and health
Following the ongoing debate on the relationship between ultra-processed foods and its implications on health, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) have recently published a position statement on food processing and health.
Having reviewed the available literature, SACN acknowledges that a growing body of research associates consumption of ultra-processed foods with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. They conclude that whilst this is concerning, there are uncertainties on the quality of the evidence available (mostly observational), and should therefore be ‘treated with caution’.
Ultra-processed foods are often affordable and convenient, but can often come with excessive calories, saturated fat, salt and sugars. Consumption of ultra-processed foods may also be an indicator of other unhealthy dietary patterns and lifestyle behaviours, such as consuming diets high in processed meat, and/or low in fibre, fruits and vegetables. Over the years, highly processed foods have become engrained in UK diets, and it is now though that over 50% of our energy intake is classified as ultra-processed.
Some key recommendations from the report include:
- further assessment and development of an (ultra-) processed foods classification system that can reliably be applied to estimate consumption of processed foods in the UK
- further assessment and refinement of National Diet & Nutrition Survey methodology to better estimate and monitor processed food consumption
Other recommendations focus on developing good-quality randomised trials to identify an independent relationship to ultraprocessed foods and health. Whilst this is often seen as the ‘gold standard’ approach to research, it’s important to note that it is incredibly hard to study diets and that most research on food and health is based on observational data.
For access to the full report, visit gov.uk
