CHICAGO — The array of samples at the annual food technologists’ gathering this month was a testament to the science of flavor and texture: “Buttery Biscuits & Hot Honey Gravy,” mushroom jerky, soy chicken nuggets, strawberry champagne donuts, plant-based frozen yogurt, and an assortment of other treats were on display. I found myself embarking on a tasting frenzy, curious about how much I could consume before needing to retreat to my hotel room.
It started with a cookie bar—a perfect cookie bar. The texture was crumbly, like shortbread, but not dry, with crunchy pretzels and oats. Flecks of barely visible caramel bound the ingredients together. The sweetness was balanced, and mini marshmallows dotted the surface. This confection was engineered to showcase industrial creations from Kraft Heinz, a giant in the snack-food industry.
While there were booths featuring 100-liter reactors, flow wrappers, and even a robot making fried chicken, it became clear that these ultra-processed snacks were the true innovation on display.
I knew that food companies design products to be hyperpalatable and packed with ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. An estimated 60% of Americans’ calories these days come from ultra-processed foods. But I wasn’t prepared to hear about how companies use AI to design the perfect food, or how marketers strategize to capitalize on children’s snacking preferences.
The IFT First conference drew around 17,000 attendees and demonstrated the food industry’s awareness of the health concerns surrounding ultra-processed foods. Yet, companies are forging ahead, strategically designing edible creations so tempting that desires to eat them may override nutritional concerns.
My experience at the conference, as enjoyable as it was, raised some critical questions. How much data about the health impacts of ultra-processed foods must we accumulate before expecting companies to sell healthier options? Should they be praised for offering slightly healthier versions, even if the foods remain heavily processed? At what point does a well-made, irresistible snack cross the line from enjoyable to genuinely addictive?
“We won’t be debating the definition of ultra-processed foods,” an official of the Institute of Food Technologists, which hosted the conference, warned attendees at the start of a panel discussion. This disclaimer highlighted the rudimentary understanding of ultra-processed foods, even among experts. While overconsumption has been linked to health issues like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and even mental health concerns, scientists lack an accepted definition for these foods, making it difficult to determine precisely why they can be so harmful.
This lack of clarity has divided the industry. Some dismiss concerns about ultra-processing as unscientific. “This is the new demon food,” said Janet Helm, a food and nutrition consultant, at the conference. “The health benefit of a product is not solely related to the level of processing.” Others acknowledge the growing scientific evidence but argue it’s too early to influence corporate strategy. “I don’t think we know what to change right now,” said Anna Rosales, the IFT official who led the panel on ultra-processed foods.
Many companies are responding by offering slightly healthier versions of their products, attempting to win over health-conscious consumers. These fears present “opportunities for growth,” as stated by a marketer for Innova Market Insights. The exhibit hall was filled with tweaked versions of classics.
The plant-based frozen yogurt I tasted contained pea protein and less sugar due to the use allulose, a low-calorie sweetener. “For consumers of plant-based frozen desserts, ‘added protein’ is one of the top health and nutritional benefits they seek when choosing a product,” the manufacturer, Ingredion, stated in its advertising.
Scientists and public health officials have offered educated guesses as to why ultra-processed foods are so appealing. These foods may trigger addictive chemical responses in the brain or disrupt communication between the gut and brain, encouraging overeating. Socioeconomic factors, such as low cost and wide availability, contribute to UPFs’ popularity, particularly for those with limited time or resources to cook.
Additionally, food companies, with their teams of scientists and access to unlimited tools that manipulate smell, color, texture, and taste, can design food tailored to a person’s individual preferences. In reality, the strawberry champagne donuts didn’t contain real strawberries or champagne, but were flavored with man-made ingredients to mimic those flavors.
The cookie dippers, made by Cargill, contain “PalmAgility compound shortening,” marketed as “less likely to get brittle when stored at low temperatures or greasy at high temperatures.” The plant-based frozen yogurt contained maltodextrin and a “frozen dessert stabilizer system.”.
It was during a talk from Mintel that I realized the texture of the Kraft cookie bar attracted me so immediately, and triggered my indulgence. The caramel and pretzel bits provided a pleasant crunchy contrast. The marketer revealed that 80% of millennials report that texture influences snack cravings.
Food companies can now predict what snacks I like before I even taste them. Is adding pretzels to a cookie really that different from what I might do when baking at home?
The food policy world is grappling with this question. Some view the creation of craveable foods as ethically suspect, comparable to Big Tobacco’s manipulation of nicotine. “Do the food companies know what is going on? Absolutely they do,” said Todd Wagner, founder of FoodFight USA, an organization advocating against ultra-processed foods. “They know it’s addictive, they know it’s got health consequences, this is very similar to cigarettes.” Others simply see companies as larger versions of home cooks.
“The last time I checked, anybody who makes a recipe, most of us make it because we want it to taste good,” said Rosales. “Even when I’m thinking of healthy food, I want those to be craveable.” Was a snack designed in a lab really the same as one cooked in my own kitchen?
There is no telling how many calories I consumed, or the amount of sugar and salt my body was subjected to during those two days. I’ll probably need to avoid certain snacks for a while. But I never truly felt full, which is both the secret and the risk of ultra-processed foods. They rarely satisfy like a fibrous piece of celery.
Studies looking at the impact of UPFs on weight gain found that subjects consumed more calories and gained more weight when eating ultra-processed foods compared to a nutrient-matched, minimally processed diet.
“There’s dozens of hypotheses out there, and very strong opinions” on the reasons for the overconsumption and weight gain, said Kevin Hall, the National Institutes of Health researcher who directed the study. Overeating could result from ultra-processed disturbing the body’s hunger hormones, or from the fact that the body digests these foods faster than whole foods.
I admit that I felt a wave of nausea by my first afternoon of sampling. I wondered if the exhibit hall was ready to spit me out, but it was just hunger. It was time for another snack.
