Attributable to Rocco Renaldi, Secretary General, International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA)
May 6, 2026
The International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA) supports efforts to improve cardiovascular health and reduce the global burden of diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Clear, practical dietary guidance grounded in the totality of scientific evidence is essential to achieving this goal. However, increasing focus on “ultra-processed foods” risks oversimplifying complex nutrition science and creating confusion for consumers and policymakers.
“Ultra-processed food” is a broad and heterogeneous concept that captures a wide range of foods with very different nutritional profiles and roles in the diet. Using it as a basis for policy or guidance risks being at best overly simplistic and at worst counterproductive.
As this paper itself notes, much of the evidence is observational, and the biological mechanisms proposed to explain these associations remain under study and are not established as causal. The strongest evidence shows that overall dietary patterns, nutrient quality, and lifestyle factors drive health outcomes – not processing alone.
Effective public health strategies should remain focused on reducing nutrients of concern such as added sugars, sodium and saturated fat, while supporting balanced diets and informed consumer choice. IFBA and its member companies are taking action aligned with this evidence, including reformulation, portion guidance, transparent labelling and responsible marketing. We support policies grounded in robust science that improve diet quality without creating unnecessary complexity or limiting access to safe, affordable and nutritious foods.