Ultra‑processed foods: a One Health agenda for action and accountability

Virtual webinar as part of the One Health Summit: One Health Festival. French and Spanish translation provided.

Introduction and proposed agenda

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are increasingly dominant in global food markets and supply chains. These products are typically industrially formulated from refined ingredients and additives, produced through multiple processing steps, and distributed through complex global supply chains. Their rapid expansion has transformed food environments and dietary patterns globally.

UPFs are widely discussed in relation to diet-related noncommunicable diseases. However, their production, composition and distribution are embedded within broader industrial food systems that intersect with multiple domains of public policy, including agriculture, food safety, environmental sustainability and global trade. As a result, UPFs influence not only dietary exposure patterns but also agricultural production systems, environmental pressures and the governance of foodborne hazards.

Examining ultra-processed foods through a One Health perspective can help illuminate how modern food systems shape interconnected risks across human, animal and environmental health.

Health threats at the human–animal–environment interface, including zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety incidents and environmental degradation, are increasing in scale, frequency and complexity. These risks are inherently transboundary, multisectoral and systemic, and cannot be effectively addressed through isolated or sector-specific approaches.

The One Health approach is widely recognized as an appropriate framework to respond to such interconnected challenges, as it promotes integrated action across human, animal and environmental health sectors.

Despite strong political endorsement, implementation of One Health remains uneven. Institutional mandates and expertise related to human, animal and environmental health are often dispersed across sectors and organizations, and coordination mechanisms linking these actors remain limited.

Within this context, examining the growing role of ultra-processed foods in global food systems/ modern food systems provides a practical entry point for exploring how One Health perspectives can be operationalized in food system governance.

Purpose of the side event

This side event will examine the growing role of ultra-processed foods within modern food systems and explore how these products intersect with interconnected risks across human health, animal health and environmental sustainability.

Through short expert presentations, the session will highlight emerging evidence on dietary exposure, environmental and production pathways, and chemical and material exposures associated with ultra-processed food systems. A One Health perspective will then be used to explore how these interconnected pathways relate to broader food system governance challenges.

Building on this evidence, the discussion will consider whether and how food authorities may engage with the governance of ultra-processed foods through existing regulatory functions, including oversight of foodborne hazards, regulation of additives and food-contact materials, traceability and recall systems, labelling enforcement and compliance monitoring.

Framing ultra-processed foods within a One Health perspective invites dialogue on policy coherence across nutrition, food safety, agriculture and environmental sectors, and on the potential co-benefits of regulatory approaches that address multiple risks simultaneously.

Preliminary agenda (90 minutes)

This side event will combine short expert presentations with a moderated panel discussion to explore how ultra-processed foods intersect with One Health challenges and how food authorities may engage through existing regulatory functions.