Is all processed food unhealthy? A new app challenges that assumption

Critics claim the current definition is too broad

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

June 6, 2025

• WISEcodes system challenges the idea that all ultra-processed foods pose equal health risks.

• The new classification system distinguishes foods based on ingredient-level analysis, sugar content, and known health concerns.

• Useful for consumers, food producers, and researchers alike, the WISEcode model may usher in a new era of precision in food health assessments.

As he launched his Make America Healthy Again campaign, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken special aim at processed food, claiming it is one of the things making Americans sick.

But what, exactly, is processed food? So far, it hasnt been easy to define to everyones satisfaction.

WISEcode, a company that created an app to provide transparency about food ingredients, has unveiled a system for classifying foods based on ingredient-specific health data, challenging the long-standing ultra-processed label and offering what it touts as a more refined framework for understanding the health implications of modern food products.

Over the past decade, public concern and scientific scrutiny have focused increasingly on the health risks associated with processed and ultra-processed foods. However, existing classification systemsparticularly the widely used Nova systemhave been criticized for being too broad and lacking nuance.

Four categories of processed food

Nova, developed in 2009, places foods into four categories, with ultra-processed foods linked to obesity, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. But critics say its approach often lumps disparate foods together. For example, sugary candy bars and sugar-free whole grain cereals may both end up in the same ultra-processed category.

Dr. Richard Black, chief scientific officer at WISEcode and adjunct professor at Tufts University, argues that this one-size-fits-all model fails to reflect the diversity and complexity of modern food formulations.

There is most certainly a group of processed foods that may have a negative health impact over the long term, Black explains, while there are others still labeled as ultra-processed by Nova that could actually support a healthy diet.

To address this gap, WISEcode has developed a new food classification model. The system evaluates foods using three key criteria:

• Ingredient Risk A weighted assessment of food ingredients based on known health risks

• Sugar Content The proportion of calories derived from added sugars

• Flagged Ingredients Consideration of ingredients with specific, evidence-based health concerns

Detailed spectrum of food processing

Using this method, over 650,000 food products and 5,500 ingredients were analyzed. The result? A more detailed spectrum of food processing, which classifies items into five categories: minimal, light, moderate, ultra, and super-ultra processed.

Unlike Nova, which places a vast range of products into a single ultra-processed category, WISEcodes framework offers more differentiation within that segment, highlighting both the health threats and potential nutritional merits of processed foods.

According to Black, the WISEcode model offers broad utility. For consumers, it provides a clear and actionable way to make healthier food choices, even among processed items.

For food manufacturers, it opens the door to transparent comparisons with competing products based on health impact, not just marketing claims. And for researchers, it offers a powerful new tool to isolate which ingredients or combinations of ingredients are genuinely harmful, or surprisingly beneficial.

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