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Ultra-processed food increases risk of early death, international study finds
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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Was a bit surprised to see bread there, as it's been a staple of many cultures' cuisines for millennia. Did a quick search, and got some clarity in this list - "mass-produced packaged bread" is UPF, not the stuff you make from scratch or perhaps pick up from the local bakery.
A relief, actually, as I just took a loaf of sourdough out of the oven and was waiting for it to be cool enough to slice into. This article took the shine off the experience for a moment there 😅
Yeah the typical American stuff is like 10% sugar, packed with additives like emulsifiers and preservatives, and anything that makes the production processes cheaper and faster, made from bleached flour and has most of the fibre stripped out.
If your bread is made from flour, water, salt and yeast its processed food not UPF.
The supermarket bread that looks and feels like a squeaky toy. Best to avoid that one.
But I like the sound it makes when I eat it :(
I remember the first time I visited the States, and bought a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter from the grocery store on my first night to make toast the following morning. Boy, did the unexpected sugar hit at breakfast time wake me up! HFCS really is in everything over there. Not at all surprised that packaged bread is classed as UPF.
I'm sure the actual paper defines this better, but without a definition of what puts something in this category, it's not useful.
Even for bread, is it all bread? Is it added gluten? Is it a specific preservative? Is it only bread with bleached flour?
Even so, mass produced and packaged is not the actual contributor...
Same with prepared food... Costco makes prepared food that is equivalent to what you'd make at home. It's that still bad? If not, what other prepared food is fine?
It's most bread. There will always be a few outliers, but they're a tiny minority.
Gluten isn't 'added' to bread, it's a naturally occurring component of grains like wheat, rye and barley. Gluten free bread is made from alternative grains that naturally do not contain gluten (sorghum, rice, buckwheat, etc.). Gluten isn't unhealthy unless you have Coeliac disease or a gluten sensitivity/intolerance. It won't factor into UPF status.
The ideal bread is preservative free. Mass-produced bread is almost never preservative free, because the time it takes for the bread to be baked, shipped, put on the shelf in a shop, picked up by you and taken home to eat is longer than it takes to go mouldy (particularly if it's in a plastic bag). Hence, they add a preservative to extend the shelf life.
A bakery is less likely to use preservatives, because they bake fresh daily, based on customer demand. Homemade bread also doesn't need preservatives for pretty much the same reason.
No need to demonise preservatives, or split hairs over "better" or "worse" ones, but worth being mindful of the amount you consume.
Bleached flour improves performance for baking (making lighter, fluffier loaves with more 'bounce' and chewiness from the gluten), but also strips out a lot of the minerals that are beneficial for your health. Mass-produced bread tends to use bleached flour, because a white and fluffy loaf is more appealling to consumers than a denser and darker one, and the lighter consistency makes it less filling, leading you to consume more of it, which means more money for them. Given the choice between bleached and unbleached flour, choose the latter if you can.
So, yes, 'mass-produced and packaged' does tend to correlate directly with the overall nutritional content.
I can only speak for myself on this one, but I've never seen a pre-prepared meal at Costco that is the equivalent of what I'd make at home. It tends to be carb, fat and animal protein heavy, and very light on veg. My cooking is the opposite (lots of veg, some complex carbs, not too much fat or animal protein).
Just like the preservatives and bleached flour in bread, companies who mass-produce food are looking to use the cheapest ingredients with the longest shelf life to maximise their profits. Makes good business sense for them, but not good health/nutritional sense for consumers.
Enjoy that sourdough!! I have always wanted to get into baking bread. I will eventually get there someday. The semolina my local bakery makes is 😗🤌 i love bread
Ooh, semolina, nice! Love me some Pane Siciliano... Think you just inspired my next loaf 🤭
(Highly recommend breadmaking as a hobby, if the spirit moves you. Very meditative - particularly the kneading - with bonus baked goods when you're done!)