Ultra-processed foods are ‘hijacking kids’ tastebuds’ and robbing them of the ‘joys of REAL texture and flavour’, warn leading TV chefs including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Yotam Ottolenghi

• Ultra-processed foods have long been vilified for raising the risk of poor health
• The group criticised the products for ‘blindfolding’ kids to flavour and texture 

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are ‘hijacking children’s taste buds’ and robbing them of the ‘joys of real food’, leading celebrity chefs and authors have warned.

The group, which includes Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dr Chris van Tulleken and Kimberley Wilson, said the items are ‘blindfolding’ kids to flavour and texture. 

In a letter penned to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the coalition said many would grow up ‘only knowing the simplified and sweet flavours’ of UPFs, risking long term health issues.

Additive-laden foods have long been vilified over their supposed risks, with studies linking them to cancer and heart disease.

Experts have even called for UPFs — typically anything edible that has more artificial ingredients than natural ones — to be slashed from diets.

In partnership with the charity, Soil Association, which campaigns for sustainable food, farming and land use, the letter’s signatories also urged Mr Sunak to ensure a million extra children in education get five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. 

UPFs refers to items which contain ingredients people would not usually add when they were cooking homemade food.

These additions might include chemicals, colourings, sweeteners and preservatives that extend shelf life.

Ready meals, ice cream and tomato ketchup are some of the best-loved examples of products that fall under the umbrella UPF term, now synonymous with foods offering little nutritional value because they generally have higher sugar, salt and fat content.

They are different to processed foods, which are tinkered to make them last longer or enhance their taste, such as cured meat, cheese and fresh bread.

WHAT ARE ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS? 

Ultra-processed foods are high in added fat, sugar and salt, low in protein and fibre and contain artificial colourings, sweeteners and preservatives.

The term covers food that contains ingredients that a person wouldn’t add when cooking at home — such as chemicals, colourings and preservatives.

Ready meals, ice cream, sausages, deep-fried chicken and ketchup are some of the best-loved examples.

They are different to processed foods, which are processed to make them last longer or enhance their taste, such as cured meat, cheese and fresh bread.

Ultra-processed foods, such as sausages, cereals, biscuits and fizzy drinks, are formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives.

They contain little or no unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as fruit, vegetables, seeds and eggs.

The foods are usually packed with sugars, oils, fats and salt, as well as  additives, such as preservatives, antioxidants and stabilisers.

Ultra-processed foods are often presented as ready-to-consume, taste good and are cheap.

Source: Open Food Facts  

Rob Percival, head of food policy at the Soil Association, said: ‘Ultra-processed foods are hijacking children’s taste buds. 

‘These products are often soft and sweet, and children growing up on an ultra-processed diet are left blindfolded to the joys and complexity of real food… 

‘Too few know the taste of bitter greens or the nutty flavour of beans and lentils, or have felt the crunch of a tomato bursting on their tongue.’

In the letter the group also wrote: ‘Learning to eat should be an adventure — joyful and challenging — but our children are increasingly being robbed of the experience. 

‘Many are growing up not knowing the tastes, textures, and smells of real food. Many will rarely feel fresh produce between their fingers. 

‘Many will enter adulthood only knowing the simplified and sweet flavours of ultra-processed products, leading to unhealthy choices and poorer health outcomes later in life.’

There is evidence suggesting that UPFs may cause people to overeat, consume more calories and gain more weight.

Some experts have claimed they super-charge people’s appetites and disrupt signals from the gut to the brain which tell us when we are full, although others dispute this.

In a report accompanying the letter, the Soil Association also urged the government to commit to ensuring school pupils eat freshly prepared meals and grow their own food, as proposed in Henry Dimbleby’s national food strategy.

In his two-part report, the latter part of which was published in 2021, the co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain advised a ‘snack tax’ on foods with high sugar and salt content to encourage manufactures to make food healthier.

The 280-page report also called for free school meals for every Universal Credit household. 

Earlier this year, however, he resigned from his post at the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, arguing government ministers were refusing to impose restrictions on the junk food industry due to an obsession with ‘ultra-free-market ideology’. 

In its report today, the Soil Association also called for the government to implement regulation requiring school caterers that require them to use more organic and seasonal produce.

It also urged them to introduce a target to reduce UPFs in children’s diets. 

Responding to the proposals, a government spokesperson said: ‘We are taking strong action to tackle childhood obesity by cutting the salt and sugar content in foods and encouraging healthier food choices. 

‘We’ve already delivered dramatic sugar reductions in children’s foods like breakfast cereals, yogurts and fromage frais, whilst our calorie labelling legislation empowers informed food choices.

‘Food is already a compulsory topic within the national curriculum for 5–14-year-olds in state-maintained schools, with children receiving high quality teaching on the importance of healthy eating and nutrition.’

They added: ‘We are also committed to ensuring children leave school knowing how to cook at least six healthy meals through using curriculum materials that the Oak National Academy are developing. 

‘Oak has appointed a subject expert and will start their work on producing these materials in the coming months.’

It comes after two studies, published in August, found those who consume lots of ultra-processed foods are at higher risk of suffering heart attacks and having dangerously high blood pressure. 

Campaigners labelled the findings the strongest evidence yet about the harms of eating ultra-processed foods.

In response, some called for warning labels on ultra-processed food and for official guidance on how much people should eat.

But other experts have argued that calls to avoid ultra-processed foods ‘risks demonising foods that are nutritionally beneficial’.

For example, flavoured yoghurts, baked beans and even baby formula are technically ultra-processed foods, as are ready meals — even if they contain fresh vegetables. 

Earlier this month, researchers, including several from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — the specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organization — also suggested there was no link between an increased disease risk and ultra-processed breads, cereals and ready meals.