ArticlePublic health nutrition2018
Ultra-processed foods and the limits of product reformulation.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health outcomes: a systematic review of epidemiological studies.Nutrition journal · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Trends in the Prevalence of Foods High in Saturated Fats, Sodium, and Added Sugars among U.S. adults, NHANES 2007-2018.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2026Article
- Peru's front-of-package warning label policy and changes in the healthfulness of the food supply: a pre-post observational study.BMJ global health · 2026Observational
- Integrating Policies that Enable Minimally Processed Foods with Policies that Restrict Ultra-Processed Foods for Obesity and Noncommunicable Disease Prevention.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Food Service Directors' Knowledge and Beliefs About Ultraprocessed Foods in California's San Joaquin Valley Schools.Preventing chronic disease · 2026Article
- Cross-border food reformulation: changes in nutrient content in Uruguay following the implementation of front-of-package policies in neighbouring countries.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Food Environment Policies to Address the Market Power of Ultraprocessed Food Corporations.American journal of public health · 2026Article
- A call for methodological rigour: suspending systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies on ultra-processed foods.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Review
- Review
- Beyond diet and health: scoping umbrella review of the wider impact and influence of ultra-processed foods.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed foods and accelerated aging in adults: an emerging public health challenge for nutrition and functional health.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- A conflict of visions in nutrition science: polarization, power, and the case of Ultra-Processed Foods.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Food industry degrowth as a public health strategy: the case of ultra processed baked goods.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Strategic decoupling through legitimacy: the sustainability-innovation gap in the food processing sector and its health implications.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- A scoping review of assessment of front-of-pack labeling policy implementation and response in low-and middle-income countries.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Diet quality and consumption of ultra-processed foods according to age groups in Brazil: insights from the National Dietary Survey 2017-2018.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Interaction between chronotype and ultra-processed food intake on triglyceride-glucose index in Korean adults.Nutrition research and practice · 2025Article
- A quantitative environmental impact assessment of Australian ultra-processed beverages and impact reduction scenarios.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The nutritional reformulation of processed food and beverage products has been promoted as an important means of addressing the nutritional imbalances in contemporary dietary patterns. The focus of most reformulation policies is the reduction in quantities of nutrients-to-limit - Na, free sugars, SFA, trans-fatty acids and total energy. The present commentary examines the limitations of what we refer to as 'nutrients-to-limit reformulation' policies and practices, particularly when applied to ultra-processed foods and drink products. Beyond these nutrients-to-limit, there are a range of other potentially harmful processed and industrially produced ingredients used in the production of ultra-processed products that are not usually removed during reformulation. The sources of nutrients-to-limit in these products may be replaced with other highly processed ingredients and additives, rather than with whole or minimally processed foods. Reformulation policies may also legitimise current levels of consumption of ultra-processed products in high-income countries and increased levels of consumption in emerging markets in the global South.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.