Table 1.

Description of how additives are considered across categories from the Nova food processing classification system

Nova group	Additive explanationa
Group 1: Unprocessed or minimally processed foods	‘Additives are usually not necessary and only exceptionally found in minimally processed foods’. ‘…Foods with vitamins and minerals added generally to replace nutrients lost during processing, such as wheat or corn flour fortified with iron and folic acid’.
Group 2: Processed culinary ingredients	‘Additives are usually not necessary and only exceptionally found in processed culinary ingredients’. ‘Also, products consisting of two Group 2 items, such as salted butter, and Group 2 items with added vitamins or minerals, such as iodised salt’.
Group 3: Processed foods	‘Processed foods often contain additives that prolong product duration, protect original properties or prevent proliferation of microorganisms (such as preservatives and antioxidants), but not additives with cosmetic functions’.
Group 4: Ultra-processed foods	‘…Application of additives including those whose function is to make the final product palatable or hyper-palatable such as flavours, colourants, non-sugar sweeteners and emulsifiers; and sophisticated packaging, usually with synthetic materials’. ‘…Additives with cosmetic functions (flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents) in their list of ingredients’.

^aAdditive explanation from Martinez-Steele et al., Nature Food 2023.