Revision History

A landmark Lancet series involving 43 international experts argues that the health harms of ultra-processed foods stem primarily from their ingredient composition — added sugars, hydrogenated oils, artificial additives — rather than the industrial processes used to make them. The finding has reignited debate over whether the widely used NOVA classification system, which categorizes foods by processing level, remains the right framework for public health policy, and whether ingredient-based regulation like sugar taxes would be more effective than process-based restrictions.