Process this: 50,000 grocery products reveal shocking truth about America’s food supply

Minimally processed foods make up just a small percentage of what’s available in the U.S. supermarkets

BOSTON — Next time you walk down the aisles of your local grocery store, take a closer look at what’s actually available on those shelves. A stunning report reveals the majority of food products sold at major U.S. grocery chains are highly processed, with most of them priced significantly cheaper than less processed alternatives.

In what may be the most comprehensive analysis of food processing in American grocery stores to date, researchers examined over 50,000 food items sold at Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods to understand just how processed our food supply really is. Using sophisticated machine learning techniques, they developed a database called GroceryDB that scores foods based on their degree of processing.

What exactly makes a food “processed“? While nearly all foods undergo some form of processing (like washing and packaging), ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made mostly from substances extracted from foods or synthesized in laboratories. Think instant soups, packaged snacks, and soft drinks – products that often contain additives like preservatives, emulsifiers, and artificial colors.

Research has suggested that diets high in ultra-processed foods can contribute to health issues like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Over-processing can also strip foods of beneficial nutrients. Despite these risks, there has been no easy way for consumers to identify what foods are processed, highly processed, or ultra-processed.

“There are a lot of mixed messages about what a person should eat. Our work aims to create a sort of translator to help people look at food information in a more digestible way,” explains Giulia Menichetti, PhD, an investigator in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the study’s corresponding author, in a statement.

The findings paint a concerning picture of American food retail. Across all three stores, minimally processed products made up a relatively small fraction of available items, while ultra-processed foods dominated the shelves. Even more troubling, the researchers found that for every 10% increase in processing scores, the price per calorie dropped by 8.7% on average. This means highly processed foods tend to be substantially cheaper than their less processed counterparts.

However, the degree of processing varied significantly between stores. Whole Foods offered more minimally processed options and fewer ultra-processed products compared to Walmart and Target. The researchers also found major differences between food categories. Some categories, like jerky, popcorn, chips, bread, and mac and cheese, showed little variation in processing levels – meaning consumers have limited choices if they want less processed versions of these foods. Other categories, like cereals, milk alternatives, pasta, and snack bars, displayed wider ranges of processing levels.

Looking at specific examples helps illustrate these differences. When examining breads, researchers found that Manna Organics multi-grain bread from Whole Foods scored low on the processing scale since it’s made primarily from whole wheat kernels and basic ingredients. In contrast, certain breads from Walmart and Target scored much higher due to added ingredients like resistant corn starch, soluble corn fiber, and various additives.

The research team also developed a novel way to analyze individual ingredients’ contributions to food processing. They found that certain oils, like brain octane oil, flaxseed oil, and olive oil, contributed less to ultra-processing compared to palm oil, vegetable oil, and soybean oil. This granular analysis helps explain why seemingly similar products can have very different processing scores.

Study authors have made their findings publicly accessible through a website called TrueFood.tech, where consumers can look up specific products and find less processed alternatives within the same category.

“When people hear about the dangers of ultra-processed foods, they ask, ‘OK, what are the rules? How can we apply this knowledge?'” Menichetti notes. “We are building tools to help people implement changes to their diet based on information currently available about food processing. Given the challenging task of transforming eating behaviors, we want to nudge them to eat something that is within what they currently want but a less-processed option.”

As Americans increasingly rely on grocery stores for their food — with over 60% of U.S. food consumption coming from retail establishments — understanding what’s actually available on store shelves becomes crucial for public health. While this research doesn’t definitively prove that ultra-processed foods are harmful, it does demonstrate that avoiding them may require both conscious effort and deeper pockets.

So the next time you’re comparing prices at the grocery store, remember: that bargain might come at a hidden cost.