Industry ties widespread among authors challenging ultra-processed food classification

A growing body of research links higher consumption of ultra-processed foods with poorer health. Much of that research relies on a food classification system called Nova, which categorizes foods by the degree and purpose of industrial processing. Foods in Nova's ultra-processed category include many packaged snacks, candy, sweetened drinks, and ready-to-eat foods.

Oregon Research Institute (ORI) Research Scientist Erica M. LaFata, Ph.D., and colleagues conducted a systematic review that identified 69 academic articles published between 2009 and 2025 that criticized Nova or described potential benefits of ultra-processed foods. They also examined the 232 authors' food industry relationships, including both those disclosed in the articles and those identified only through publicly available sources.

The findings were striking: 91.3% of the articles included at least one author with an identified food industry relationship. Overall, more than two-thirds of the authors (68.5%) had some type of industry tie.

Many of those industry relationships were not disclosed in the articles themselves. In fact, for 71.1% of authors with identified industry ties, those ties were found only through publicly available information. Dr. LaFata and her team also found that articles involving authors with industry relationships were more likely to defend or promote potential benefits of ultra-processed foods than articles with no identified industry ties.

"This study is not saying that criticism of Nova is illegitimate. Some of those criticisms identify real ways the system can be improved," says LaFata. "But readers should know who is shaping that debate. When most of the published criticism involves authors with food industry relationships, and many of those relationships are not disclosed, transparency becomes especially important."

The findings underscore the need for greater transparency around food industry relationships in nutrition research and for readers, journals, and policymakers to consider those relationships when evaluating debates over ultra-processed foods and the policies based on that evidence.

Founded in 1960, Oregon Research Institute is an independent behavioral research center located in Springfield, Oregon.