When food is engineered for consumption velocity (Bliss Point) rather than nutrition, choice becomes an illusion.
UPF In the News
Metabolic Damage Hiding in Plain Sight
New research from USC confirms that young adults face hidden metabolic damage and prediabetes risks even when caloric intake appears balanced, driven specifically by processing intensity.
While policy discussions focus on long-term guidelines, these metabolic signals are already observable in the current generation. Product-level transparency is the only way for consumers to identify and avoid these “predictable failure modes” before the damage becomes irreversible. Source
UPF Daily Insight
The Illusion of Choice
“The industry likes to suggest this is somehow consumer choice, but this is an industry that is trying to create the illusion of choice… They’ve actually eroded choice.” — David Chiu, San Francisco City Attorney Source
UPF Legal Update
The Federal GRAS Loophole Targeted
Following the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report, the FDA is accepting public comments until January 26, 2026, on an administrative order that could revoke the “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) status for hundreds of industrial emulsifiers and thickeners.
This move targets the “invisible ingredients” of UPFs; chemicals that food scientists use to create the ultra-processed matrix but which are currently exempt from rigorous pre-market safety reviews. Industry trade groups have labeled the move “regulatory overreach,” while health advocates cite it as a necessary step to update 1950s-era safety standards. Source