80% of Americans surveyed expressed concerns over UPFs. So What?
Apr 18, 2025
April 17 — A recent study published by Food Engineering sheds light on the complex relationship American consumers have with ultra-processed foods (UPFs). According to a February 2025 survey by Purdue University's Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability:
65% of respondents reported understanding the term "processed food"
33% had heard it but were unsure of its meaning
Over 80% expressed moderate to high concern about the health impacts of processed and ultra-processed foods
19% rated their concern at the highest level
Those numbers aren’t bad at all… At least people are becoming more aware of processed and ultra-processed foods in the United States. But despite these known concerns, consumption remains high:
78% reported purchasing chips
75% bought breakfast cereals
71% regularly consume processed meats
Why? Joseph Balagtas, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue says the study assessed attitudes among three household income brackets. What he found as key factors driving ultra-processed food purchases were clear convenience, time savings and affordability.
“With many processed foods being in a ready-to-eat state, they can be an important part of many household diets, especially when there is limited time or knowledge to prepare meals.”
While it would be nice to eliminate UPFs altogether, the realistic approach is to give consumers an easy-to-use tool that highlights BOTH harmful and benign ingredients in their packaged foods. The choice to buy it is still theirs, but at least they have quick and accurate information to base their decision on.
WISEcode™ does just that. Leveraging its database of over 650,000 packaged foods (43% of which are processed or ultra-processed), users can know exactly what’s inside their go-to products, and make adjustments based on their priorities.
Download the app on iOS or Google Play today.