Episode 8: The fascinating world of ultra-processed foods, Part 1

Ultra-processed foods are everywhere, but most people don’t fully know what the term means. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we start from the beginning: how the modern ultra-processed food concept emerged, why it was created, and how the NOVA classification system defines ultra-processed foods today. In this episode The history behind processed foods What “ultra-processed” means The modern origin of the term and why researchers introduced it NOVA 101: the four groups and what makes a food ultra-processed Connect with Noha: Topic requests: [email protected] Follow the podcast on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Noha on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about working with Noha ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ References mentioned in the episode Monteiro, CA. (2009). Nutrition and health. The issue is not food, nor nutrients, so much as processing. Public Health Nutrition. Monteiro, CA., et al. (2010). Increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health: evidence from Brazil. Public Health Nutrition. Monteiro, CA., et al. (2019). Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition. Braesco, V et al. (2022). Ultra-processed foods: how functional is the NOVA system? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Sadler, CR., et al. (2022). Processed food classification: conceptualisation and challenges in practice. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. da Silva, JT., et al. (2025). Defining ultra-processed foods: a systematic review of classification systems and operational definitions. United States Department of Health and Human Services, United States Department of Agriculture. (2025). Ultra-Processed Foods: Request for Information. Federal Register. Health Canada. (2022). Limit highly processed foods. Canada’s Food Guide. It’s Never Just Food is hosted by Noha Gerges and is operated by 17928238 Canada Inc. This podcast is for general educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical, nutritional or professional advice.