TY - JOUR T1 - ‘Warning: ultra-processed’ — A call for warnings on foods that aren’t really foods JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007240 VL - 6 IS - 12 SP - e007240 AU - Trish Cotter AU - Alexey Kotov AU - Shuo Wang AU - Nandita Murukutla Y1 - 2021/12/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/12/e007240.abstract N2 - Summary boxThe health harms of ultra-processed foods are well documented, but consumers are not informed or warned about these risks.Government action and public education should articulate that diets high in ultra-processed foods are harmful, and policies should aim to reduce that harm.Introducing warnings as part of existing or new front-of-package nutrient labels on food packages would specifically identify ultra-processed foods and give consumers important information at the point of purchase.Tobacco-style campaigns on the harms of ultra-processed foods might help to avert the looming threat to consumers' health by quickly building their awareness.It's high time that consumers had the opportunity to see ultra-processed foods for what they are: foods that are not real foods, containing nutrients but not real nutrition, pervasively marketed by supranational companies offering choices that are not real choices. Despite the robust evidence that links ultra-processed foods to serious health consequences,1–4 our research indicates that the public does not fully understand this group of products, and it suggests that they might be in the dark about the urgent actions that could be taken to prevent its dire harms.5 Simply put, ultra-processed foods are foods that can’t be made in your home kitchen because they have been chemically or physically transformed using industrial processes. They are recognisable on the supermarket shelf as packaged foods that are ready-to-eat, contain more than five ingredients and have a long shelf-life.6 The industrial processing, as well as the cocktail of additives, flavours, emulsifiers and colours they contain to give flavour and texture, make the final product hyper-palatable or more appealing and potentially addictive, which in turn leads to poor dietary patterns.6–8 With more than half the total calories consumed in high-income countries coming from ultra-processed foods and rapid increases in low- and middle-income countries, these products … ER -