Processed foods

Processed Foods

These generally begin with recognizable foods and have ingredients such as salt, sugar, or oil added for preservation, flavor, or preparation

Examples include:

• Sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit-flavored drinks

• Packaged snack cakes, cookies, and pastries

• Candy and chocolate bars

• Potato chips and flavored snack foods

• Many sugary breakfast cereals

• Instant noodles and packaged ramen

• Certain frozen pizzas and ready-to-eat meals

• Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and some processed meats

• Packaged donuts and commercially prepared desserts

• Some flavored yogurts and sweetened dairy desserts

• Powdered drink mixes and artificially flavored beverages

• Some packaged white breads and hamburger buns

Important: Not all packaged or processed foods are ultra-processed. Classification depends on the ingredients and manufacturing methods, and nutritional quality can vary considerably.