Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences DISTAL, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.
Interdepartmental Centre for Industrial Agrofood Research-CIRI Agrofood, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.
Nutrients. 2021 Nov 5;13(11):3948. doi: 10.3390/nu13113948.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are negatively perceived by part of the scientific community, the public, and policymakers alike, to the extent they are sometimes referred to as not "real food". Many observational surveys have linked consumption of UPFs to adverse health outcomes. This narrative synthesis and scientific reappraisal of available evidence aims to: (i) critically evaluate UPF-related scientific literature on diet and disease and identify possible research gaps or biases in the interpretation of data; (ii) emphasize the innovative potential of various processing technologies that can lead to modifications of the food matrix with beneficial health effects; (iii) highlight the possible links between processing, sustainability and circular economy through the valorisation of by-products; and (iv) delineate the conceptual parameters of new paradigms in food evaluation and classification systems. Although greater consumption of UPFs has been associated with obesity, unfavorable cardiometabolic risk factor profiles, and increased risk for non-communicable diseases, whether specific food processing techniques leading to ultra-processed formulations are responsible for the observed links between UPFs and various health outcomes remains elusive and far from being understood. Evolving technologies can be used in the context of sustainable valorisation of food processing by-products to create novel, low-cost UPFs with improved nutritional value and health potential. New paradigms of food evaluation and assessment should be funded and developed on several novel pillars-enginomics, signalling, and precision nutrition-taking advantage of available digital technologies and artificial intelligence. Research is needed to generate required scientific knowledge to either expand the current or create new food evaluation and classification systems, incorporating processing aspects that may have a significant impact on health and wellness, together with factors related to the personalization of foods and diets, while not neglecting recycling and sustainability aspects. The complexity and the predicted immense size of these tasks calls for open innovation mentality and a new mindset promoting multidisciplinary collaborations and partnerships between academia and industry.
超加工食品（UPFs）在一定程度上被部分科学界、公众和政策制定者视为“非真正的食物”，他们对 UPFs 的看法较为负面，甚至有时将其称为“非真正的食物”。许多观察性研究表明，食用 UPFs 与不良健康结果有关。本综述旨在对现有证据进行批判性评估和科学再评价：（i）批判性评估与饮食和疾病相关的 UPF 相关科学文献，并确定数据解释中的可能研究差距或偏见；（ii）强调各种加工技术的创新潜力，这些技术可以对食品基质进行有益健康的修饰；（iii）通过副产物的增值，突出加工、可持续性和循环经济之间的可能联系；（iv）划定食品评估和分类系统新概念范式的概念参数。虽然 UPFs 的消费增加与肥胖、不利的心血管代谢风险因素谱以及非传染性疾病风险增加有关，但导致超加工配方的特定食品加工技术是否对 UPFs 与各种健康结果之间的观察到的关联负责仍不清楚，也远未得到理解。不断发展的技术可用于可持续地对食品加工副产物进行增值利用，以创造具有改善的营养价值和健康潜力的新型低成本 UPFs。应在几个新的支柱——工程组学、信号传递和精准营养——的基础上资助和开发新的食品评估和评估范式，利用现有的数字技术和人工智能。需要开展研究以生成必要的科学知识，要么扩展当前的食品评估和分类系统，要么创建新的系统，将可能对健康和健康产生重大影响的加工方面纳入其中，同时纳入与食品和饮食个性化相关的因素，而不忽视回收和可持续性方面。这些任务的复杂性和预计的巨大规模要求具有开放创新思维和新思维，以促进学术界和工业界之间的多学科合作和伙伴关系。
