Food Additives in Ultra-Processed Packaged Foods: An Examination of US Household Store Purchases

Background Food additives have been used mainly in the past century to perform specific functions in foods. Some types of food additives have been linked to adverse health outcomes, yet there is little research examining food additives in the US food supply. Objective To examine the proportion of products purchased by US households con-taining four common technical food additives using time-specific food composition data and examine whether purchases have changed over time. Participants/setting Nielsen Homescan Consumer Panels, 2001 and 2019. Main outcome measures The proportion of packaged food products containing com-mon types of food additives purchased by US households was determined overall and by food category. Statistical analysis performed Differences were examined using Student t test; P value < 0.001 was considered significant. Results Between 2001 and 2019, the proportion of food products purchased by US households that contained additives increased from 49.6% to 59.5% (P < 0.001). The proportion of carbonated soft drinks purchased containing flavors decreased, with a subsequent increase in purchases containing nonnutritive sweeteners. Baby foods showed a 20% increase in the proportion of purchases containing additives and >15% increase in the proportion of purchases containing three or more additives. Conclusions There is convincing evidence that US household purchases of common types of technical food additives are increasing. Despite some positive changes such as a decrease in the use of added flavors in carbonated soft drinks, across most food cate-gories an increase in purchases of all types of products containing additives was observed. In particular the finding that purchases of baby food products containing additives have increased substantially is crucial in informing future research in this area and warrants further investigation. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023;123(6):889-901.

Automated summary

This study examines the proportion of food products containing additives purchased by US households and whether purchases have changed over time. The results show that between 2001 and 2019, the proportion of food products with additives increased from 49.6% to 59.5%. While purchases of carbonated soft drinks containing flavors decreased, purchases of products with nonnutritive sweeteners increased. The findings of increased purchases of baby food products with additives are crucial for future research.