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More than 95% of processed or ultra-processed food products would be classified as unhealthy under UK government dietary guidance, according to new UCL-led research. The study, published in BMJ Medicine, found that the official public health definitions used to identify and regulate food and drink products in the U.K. varied widely in what proportion of processed and ultraprocessed products they classed as unhealthy, while systems such as traffic light labels failed to identify more than half of these unhealthy packaged foods.
When the Eatwell Guide—a set of government recommendations for nutrient, food and drink intake—was used to define unhealthy food, it classified over 98% of ultraprocessed products and 95% of processed products sold in the U.K. as unhealthy.
By contrast, the voluntary green, amber and red traffic light labeling on the front of packaging identified fewer than half (48.2%) of those foods as unhealthy.
The high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) definition used by the Food Standards Agency Nutrient Profiling Model (FSA-NPM) to restrict the advertising and promotion of unhealthy foods identified just over half (57.6%) of the same foods as unhealthy.
As a result, the researchers suggest that inconsistencies in labeling and regulation may lead consumers to buy food and drink products which have high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar without realizing they are unhealthy.
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