Evidence-based Framework to Rethink Ultra-Processed Foods receives strong support at IUFoST World Congress 2026

Hong Kong, 3 November 2026 - The IUFoST Task Force on Processing for Nutrition, Diet and Health concluded a successful dedicated session series titled “Rethinking Ultra-Processed Food” (ReUPF) at the IUFoST World Food Congress in Hong Kong. The series, comprising seven sessions from 26 to 29 October 2026, received broad positive resonance and significant interest in the Task Force’s evidence-based Pro2Phy (Processing to Physiology) methodology.

A New Quantitative Approach

The Pro2Phy framework moves beyond categorical classifications such as NOVA by quantifying the distinct impacts of formulation and processing on nutritional value and linking them to consumption behavior and health-relevant outcomes. It comprises four modules:

  • NOURISH (Nutritional Optimization Under Responsible Ingredient Selection and Handling): Separates and quantifies formulation (via the Nutrient Rich Food Index, NRF) and processing (via ΔNRF) impacts on nutritional value, visualized in the NOURISH Map.     
  • PRISM (Product Rating Integration System for Multi-characteristics): Assesses six product facets at the point of purchase — nutrition (NOURISH), sustainability (EARTH), safety (SHIELD), affordability (VALUE), convenience including consumption control (EASE), and palatability (TASTE) — enabling Pareto-optimized product development.     
  • SLIM (Satiation Lag Intake Model): Models the interplay of energy density, nutrient density and eating rate to predict overeating or under-nourishment fractions, accounting for physiological satiation pathways (gastric distension, oro-sensory, CCK, GLP-1/PYY).    
  • DAME (Digestion And Metabolic Engineering): An outlook module for linking intake to bio-accessibility, bioavailability and graded health outcomes using in vitro/in vivo methods.

Congress Highlights and Outcomes

Sessions progressed from scientific foundations (ReUPF-1) through practical challenges of UPF classification in regulation, fortification and plant-based innovation (ReUPF-2), UNIDO partnerships for nutrition security and circular resource use (ReUPF-3), an expert panel on measurable classification (ReUPF-4), an interactive work session with live calculations from USDA FoodData Central demonstrating the NOURISH Map and SLIM-derived overeating fractions (ReUPF-5), project matching for pilot studies (ReUPF-6), to a closing science-practice-policy roundtable (ReUPF-7).

Participants expressed strong interest in implementing and further developing the modules. The Task Force members (Prof. B. Schneeman, Dr. H. Chen and Prof. E.J. Windhab (chair) presenting at the congress emphasized that the modules provide fundamental approaches for evidence-based description of causal relationships between formulation / processing impacts on the nutritive value and eating behavior as well as on digestive and metabolic processes to be further developed and validated. Prof. Ciaran Forde (Wageningen University) recently joined the Task Force, strengthening expertise in eating behavior and sensory science.

Next Steps

The Task Force invites research groups worldwide to validate, modify and extend the modules through concerted R&D actions between food technologists, engineers, nutrition, and other experts — efforts explicitly welcomed by IUFoST and IUNS. Current priorities include refining SLIM within the NOURISH-PRISM context, configuring the DAME program (utilizing INFOGEST protocols, wearable sensors, cell models and stable-isotope methods), and addressing the EARTH sustainability facet quantitatively in 2027. Pilot projects on NOURISH datasets, shared eating-rate protocols and paired digestion data were initiated during the congress.

E. Windhab (Task Force chair), on behalf of the IUFoST Task Force on Processing for Nutrition, Diet and Health (L. Ahrné, H. Chen, C. Forde, J. Henry, B. Schneeman), 3 Nov. 2026

 

Media & Research Inquiries

IUFoST Task Force on Processing for Nutrition, Diet and Health
Email: science.comms@iufost.org
Website: www.iufost.org

 

About the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST)
The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) is the global scientific organization representing food scientists, technologists, engineers worldwide.  Elected by its scientific peers across disciplines to the International Science Council, (ISC),  IUFoST is a federation of national food science bodies and associates. IUFoST promotes international collaboration in food science, technology, education, and innovation. The organization works across disciplines, with governments, international agencies, academia, and industry to support evidence-based policies that enhance food safety, nutrition, sustainability, and global food security. 

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