The failings of our ultra-processed diet

My rule of thumb is the further a food is from its original state the less good it is for you. Half the food bought by British households falls into that category – because it’s ultra-processed.

This means it has been significantly transformed in a factory with industrial ingredients and other additives, and bears little resemblance to its original form of whole vegetables, fruit, meat or fish.

According to an analysis of shopping habits in 19 European countries, we have the highest proportion of ultra-processed food of any country surveyed by 50.7%. Germany was the second-highest consumer (46.2%) and Ireland the third (45.9%). At the other end of the scale were Portugal (10.2%), Italy (13.4%), Greece (13.7%) and France (14.2%).

While the figures aren’t directly comparable, because they were extracted from different national surveys taken at different times, the findings indicate a clear trend.