Quick Facts

• Expert panel met six times between July 2025 and February 2026 to define ultra-processed foods using ingredient lists
• Foods with industrial additives not found in home kitchens qualify as ultra-processed, with exemptions for nutritionally beneficial products
• Ultra-processed foods account for nearly 60% of U.S. adult calories and 70% of children’s calories

A panel of 14 experts from the policy group Healthy Eating Research has developed the first comprehensive definition for ultra-processed foods. The panel met six times between July 2025 and February 2026 to create guidelines that identify these foods by their ingredient lists.

The framework centers on marker ingredients. If a product contains one or more industrial additives or substances never found in home kitchens, it qualifies as ultra-processed. This builds on the Nova food classification system developed by researchers in Brazil.

The panel added important exemptions for foods that technically contain these markers but provide meaningful nutritional benefits. Whole-grain breads may contain small amounts of non-culinary ingredients but deliver important fiber and nutrients. Fortified cereals provide essential vitamins and minerals, especially for children. Certain yogurts offer added nutrients even with some processing markers.

Health Impact Numbers

Ultra-processed foods dominate American diets. They account for nearly 60% of U.S. adults’ calorie consumption. Among American children, that portion reaches close to 70%.

The health consequences are significant. Each 10% increase in total ultra-processed food consumption links to a 13% increased risk of diabetes. A 2024 Harvard study found participants who ate the most ultra-processed food had a 4% higher risk of death from any cause and an 8% higher risk of death from neurodegenerative diseases.

Studies connect heavy ultra-processed food consumption to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, poor sleep, and increased mortality.

Federal Action Coming

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a federal definition for ultra-processed foods will arrive as soon as April 2026. “Ultra-processed foods are driving our chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said. “We must act boldly to eliminate the root causes of chronic illness and improve the health of our food supply.”

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary emphasized the urgency. “The threats posed to our health by foods often considered ultra-processed are clear and convincing, making it imperative that we work in lockstep with our federal partners to advance, for the first time ever, a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods.”

The panel’s top policy recommendations include targeted taxes on selected ultra-processed products, restrictions on what schools and childcare programs can serve, countermarketing campaigns, and mandatory front-of-package labeling.

California has already taken action. In June, the state enacted the first U.S. law to define and ban unhealthy ultra-processed foods from over 1 billion meals served to California schoolchildren in the 2025-2026 school year.

Read more: What Counts As An Ultra-Processed Food? What A Panel Of Experts Says