All processed ingredients used in foods in the UK and EU are stringently controlled, and the UK and EU are two of the most difficult regions for introducing new food ingredients. Ingredients without a long history of safe use have to undergo rigorous scientific safety assessments requiring detailed data on their bioavailability, toxicology, and nutritional aspects. It can be many years before approval is decided upon. Existing ingredients may also undergo safety assessments on occasion.
‘Ultra-processed’ food and ingredients
The problem with the term ‘ultra processed’ food is that it does not distinguish between foods that are known to have health concerns if consumed in excess, e.g. foods that are high in salt, sugar or fat, and those that have nutritonal benefits owing to e.g. high fibre, protein or micronutrient content. ‘Ultra processing’, as considered by the NOVA-classification terminology, is essential to ensure the safety of food that is consumed by a large proportion of the population owing to their busy lifestyle. Very few people have the resources (time or financial) to cook every day from scratch, thus it is important to ensure that the food they do consume is safe and of good quality throughout its shelf-life.
At the beginning of the last century (i.e. 1900) over 95% of the food consumed in the UK was obtained within a 5-mile radius of the consumer. Today in the first quarter of the 21st century, only 2-3% of our consumed food meets that criterion. We are now having to import food from all over the world to feed our rapidly growing population. This means that food has to be kept stable from source to consumer.
One of the aspects of currently demonised ‘ultra processed food’ is the use of food additives such as preservatives, antioxidants, acidity regulators, emulsifiers, stabilisers, gelling agents, thickeners, colours or sweeteners. However, without the use of many of these food additives, consumers would have to return to the practice of shopping for food every couple of days which was in place until well into the second half of the last century. If colours were not used, much of the food they consume would be an unappetising murky brown, while the use of sweeteners enables a reduction in sugar content of existing foods.
All processed ingredients that are used in foods, including food supplements, are very strictly controlled in the UK and in the EU. In fact, the UK and EU are two of the most difficult regions of the world in which to introduce new ingredients. New ingredients that do not have a long history of safe use have to undergo safety assessments that require extremely detailed data on their bioavailability, toxicology and nutritional aspects. The safety assessments and risk management can take a number of years before approval is given, or the ingredient is rejected. Safety assessments also regularly take place on existing ingredients that do have a long history of being on the market, in cases where a concern might have been raised in recent times. These assessments occur both in the UK and across the EU, and ac?ons might be taken by the authorities if considered necessary, e.g. reductions in the permitted level of use, label advisory statements or complete prohibiti ons of use.
CRN UK’s members ensure that the ingredients used in their products are fully compliant with all UK and EU laws (EU food laws still apply in Northern Ireland), both in their composition and in the level of their use.
Role of food supplements
Although a balanced and varied diet is the best source of essential vitamins and minerals, the typical diet in the UK bears little resemblance to what experts recommend for fruits and vegetables and whole grains, all of which serve as important sources of an array of micronutrients and bioactive substances. Lean protein foods and low fat dairy products are also very important sources of vitamins and minerals that help ensure health and wellbeing, Foods high in calories, sugar, fats and salt and low in fibre often result in low intakes of the essential nutrients.
Persistent or periodic nutritional gaps are common in the general population, and people, particularly children, adolescents, women of childbearing age and the elderly who do not consume adequate amounts of certain foods, may have nutrient shortfalls. In addition, there are times throughout the life cycle when the body requires more nutrients than the typical diet may provide, such as during the rapid phases of growth associated with the growth of children and the adolescent growth spurt.
Over the course of a lifetime, deficiencies or suboptimal intakes in one or more nutrients may contribute to serious health consequences. The UK National Diet and Nutrition Surveys bear testament to the low intakes of essential nutrients and poor nutritional status of the UK population.
Food supplements, ranging from those that contain a small number of vitamins and minerals to those containing many more micronutrients and other bioactive substances, and in varying amounts, can be useful in providing one or more nutrients that otherwise might be consumed in less than recommended amounts.
Nutrients of concern in adults and children include calcium and vitamin D, folic acid, iron and vitamin B12 as well as potassium. The usual intakes from foods (excluding food supplements) are often below the recommendation for vitamins A, C and E and the mineral magnesium. The term “hidden hunger” is often employed to describe suboptimal intakes that occur when people consume adequate or excessive calories but inadequate intakes of micronutrients. This “hidden hunger” is associated with eating patterns dominated by energy-dense, but poor nutrient-containing foods that are often relatively inexpensive.
Micronutrients are required for nearly all metabolic and developmental bodily processes. Most nutrients act in all tissues, including muscle and nervous tissues, and hence inadequate intakes may adversely affect every body system, but with more pronounced effects in some rather than others.
Food supplements can be instrumental in filling nutritional gaps, including in population groups where the food supply is abundant. Food supplements are what the name implies, and they should not be regarded as substitutes for a balanced diet and other beneficial lifestyle habits, including adequate physical exercise.
Recommendations from government authorities and health professionals to use food supplements such as vitamin D and folic acid, are based on national and international scientific benefit:risk considerations. Current data suggest minimal, if any, risks associated with food supplements containing vitamins and minerals at recommended levels and found commonly in products on the market in the UK.