Many grocery stores mainly offer processed foods.
A study published in Nature Food analyzed over 50,000 food products from major grocery stores in the U.S. Researchers used advanced computer techniques to create a database called GroceryDB. This tool is meant to help people make better food choices and support public health efforts.
When it comes to health, ultra-processed foods (UPF) are a concern. In developed countries, these foods can make up to 60% of what people eat. This raises an important question: How much processed food can we find in grocery stores? Scientists are now pushing for clear ways to define food processing so people can understand what they’re buying.
Food labels can be confusing with mixed messages. To tackle this, researchers recommend defining food processing based on how ingredients behave biologically. The growing use of artificial intelligence is also helping to make sense of the complex data about food.
The study collected data from leading grocery websites like Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods. The aim was to identify specific food items and classify them consistently across stores.
Researchers standardized nutrient information from food labels and assessed processing levels with a tool called FoodProX. This classification system translates nutrient changes due to processing into scores that indicate how processed a food item is.
The findings showed that most food items in these stores were highly processed. Although low processed foods were popular among shoppers, they made up a small part of the available options. For instance, Whole Foods had fewer ultra-processed items than Target, which had a higher proportion of highly processed foods.
Analysis revealed that items like jerky, popcorn, and mac and cheese had limited healthy options, while categories such as cereals and snack bars offered more variety.
Interestingly, the study found that as the level of processing increased, the price per calorie of foods generally decreased. In most cases, you get more calories for less money when buying processed items compared to minimally processed ones. For instance, milk and alternatives showed a clear price trend linked to their processing level.
Some categories, like cookies and biscuits, showed a wider range of processing levels at Whole Foods compared to Target and Walmart, which had more similar offerings. For example, pizza and mac and cheese were consistently high in processing across all stores.
To further analyze the ingredients, researchers created a score to measure each ingredient’s impact on the overall processing of the final product. They found that food products with longer ingredient lists tended to be more processed.
In conclusion, this study highlights the prevalence of processed foods in major grocery stores and provides a new way to identify less processed alternatives using data-driven techniques.
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Food, Machine Learning, Public Health, Research
