What Is Ultra-Processed Food? The 2026 US Expert Panel Definition, Explained

Quick Answer: Ultra-processed foods are defined by the presence of industrial ingredients not used in home cooking: protein isolates, modified starches, emulsifiers, synthetic flavor enhancers, artificial colors, non-sugar sweeteners, and mechanically separated meat. A 14-expert US panel published this framework in May 2026 to guide food labeling, taxes, and school meal policy.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-31

For years, the US had no single agreed-upon definition of "ultra-processed food." Researchers, regulators, and journalists used the term loosely, sometimes pointing to NOVA (a Brazilian classification system developed for epidemiological research), sometimes relying on ingredient counts, sometimes just gesturing at snack food aisles. That ambiguity made policy hard to write and enforcement impossible to design.

That changed in May 2026, when the Healthy Eating Research program at Duke University published "Ultraprocessed Foods in the U.S.: Recommended Definitions and Policies", a technical report built by 14 nutrition scientists and policy experts over eight months, designed specifically to be usable by US regulators. [1]

This post walks through what the report says, why it matters, and what you can do with the information today.

What Is Ultra-Processed Food, According to the 2026 US Expert Definition?

The 14-expert panel convened from July 2025 through February 2026 under the Healthy Eating Research program at Duke. Co-chairs Jim Krieger, MD, MPH (University of Washington) and Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD (UNC Chapel Hill) led the group, with conveners Mary Story, PhD, RD and Megan Elsener Lott, MPH, RDN from the Duke program. [2]

The panel defines ultra-processed food by the presence of industrial ingredient markers. These are substances that do not appear in ordinary home cooking. A food qualifies as ultra-processed when it contains one or more of these markers as a primary ingredient.

The report's approach differs from earlier frameworks in one important way: it was built for US regulatory use. Prior classification systems, including NOVA, were developed for epidemiological research and did not map cleanly onto US food labeling law or FDA ingredient categories. The HER framework connects directly to how ingredients are declared on US nutrition labels, making it usable for front-of-pack labeling rules, school procurement restrictions, and tax proposals. [1]

What Ingredient Markers Identify Ultra-Processed Food?

The panel identified seven industrial ingredient markers. These are substances that appear in ultra-processed food but are absent from minimally processed or home-cooked meals: [2]

1. Protein isolates (soy protein isolate, whey protein isolate, pea protein isolate)
2. Mechanically separated meat (mechanically separated chicken, turkey, pork)
3. Modified starches (modified corn starch, hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate)
4. Synthetic flavor enhancers (including artificial flavors)
5. Artificial colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, and similar)
6. Emulsifiers (lecithin, carrageenan, polysorbate 80, mono- and diglycerides)
7. Non-sugar sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame-K, stevia in manufactured products)

Each of these markers serves a specific industrial function: stabilizing shelf life, masking flavor loss from heavy processing, or replacing fat and sugar in reformulated products. None of them appear in a recipe you would follow at home.

If you want to check a product right now, you can use an ingredient scanner to flag these markers automatically. The NoJunk app reads ingredient lists and identifies these ingredients for you.

You can also learn to read labels yourself. Our guide to how to read a food label covers the key terms and where to find them on a standard nutrition label.

How Much of the US Diet Is Ultra-Processed Food?

According to CDC data published in August 2025, ultra-processed foods account for 55% of total daily calories for Americans aged 1 and older. For adults 19 and older, the share is 53%. [3]

These numbers come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative dietary survey conducted by the CDC. Respondents record everything they eat over two days; researchers then classify each food item. NHANES Data Brief No. 536 used a sample representative of the US civilian, non-institutionalized population.

To put 55% in context: more than half of the calories in the average American diet come from foods that contain at least one of the industrial markers listed above. On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that is roughly 1,100 calories from ultra-processed sources every day.

The expert panel cited this NHANES data as part of the urgency behind releasing a US-specific definition. When more than half the diet fits the category, the category needs a clear, enforceable meaning.

What Policies Does the Expert Panel Recommend?

The report includes a ranked policy menu. The panel identified four Tier 1 priority interventions, meaning the evidence base is strongest and the potential for measurable impact is highest: [1] [2]

Targeted taxes on selected ultra-processed foods. Similar to existing sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, but applied using the industrial ingredient markers as the taxable criterion rather than sugar content alone.

Procurement restrictions in schools and childcare settings. Prohibiting or limiting ultra-processed foods in school meals and federally funded childcare food programs.

Countermarketing campaigns. Public awareness efforts that counter UPF advertising, modeled on anti-tobacco media strategies.

Mandatory front-of-package labeling. Warning labels triggered by the presence of industrial ingredient markers, placed on the front of packaging where consumers see them before deciding to buy.

These recommendations are notable for their specificity. Earlier calls for UPF policy reform often stopped at "update dietary guidelines" or "raise awareness." The HER report names four concrete mechanisms with clear implementation paths tied to existing US regulatory frameworks.

The front-of-pack labeling recommendation connects directly to FDA's current rulemaking on front-of-package nutrition labeling, making the timing of this report significant.

How Can I Check My Own Food for Ultra-Processed Ingredients?

The seven-marker framework gives you a concrete checklist for reading labels at the grocery store.

Start with the ingredient list, not the front of the package. Front-of-package claims such as "natural," "wholesome," or "made with real ingredients" are marketing, not regulation. The ingredient list is the document that matters.

Look for the seven markers. If you see protein isolates, mechanically separated meat, modified starches, synthetic or artificial flavors, artificial colors, emulsifiers, or non-sugar sweeteners listed prominently in the ingredients, the product likely qualifies as ultra-processed under the HER definition.

Prioritize products with shorter, recognizable ingredient lists. A bread made with flour, water, yeast, and salt is different from one containing soy protein isolate, mono- and diglycerides, and calcium propionate, even if both are labeled "whole grain."

Use a scanner. An ingredient scanner saves time when you are trying to build new habits quickly and cannot parse a 40-ingredient list at the store. For more on building this habit, see our guide to how to read a food label.

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Last reviewed: May 2026