Smart shopping

Updated 18 April 2026

What counts as ultra-processed? A supermarket guide

NOVA classification explained simply with real examples from Australian supermarket shelves. Identify ultra-processed foods and understand why they dominate our diets.

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) now make up 42% of dietary energy intake for Australian adults. That is not incidental; it is structural. Pinch tracks real grocery prices at Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, and Harris Farm, with 52 weeks of price history on 74,000+ products, so you can see the price difference between fresh and processed foods at every retailer.

What is the NOVA classification?

In 2016, researchers in Brazil created a simple framework to categorise all food by how heavily processed it is. They called it NOVA (Natural, Minimally Processed, Processed, Ultra-Processed). The system is now used by health agencies in Australia, the UK, and Canada to understand dietary patterns.

Understanding NOVA helps you see patterns in your own trolley. You do not need to eliminate ultra-processed foods; you only need to see what you are buying.

Group 1: Natural and minimally processed foods

These are foods as they appear in nature, or foods with minimal intervention (drying, freezing, pasteurisation, or roasting without added oil). Examples include fresh fruit and vegetables, dried legumes, nuts, whole grains, meat, fish, milk, eggs, and oils.

At the supermarket: carrots, apples, canned beans (no added sugar), oats, rice, chicken breast, milk, eggs, olive oil. These foods are intact. Their nutritional content matches what nature or minimal processing created.

Group 2: Processed foods

These are Group 1 foods that have been modified by adding salt, sugar, oil, or other preservatives. The ingredient list is short and mostly recognisable. Examples include canned vegetables with added salt, bread made with flour, water, salt, and yeast, and canned fish in oil.

At the supermarket: wholegrain bread (Coles/Woolworths home brand), canned tomatoes with added salt, cheese, tinned fish in brine, bottled tomato paste. These foods use basic processing methods and familiar ingredients.

Group 3: Ultra-processed foods (UPF)

These are industrial formulations that typically contain five or more ingredients. They usually include substances extracted and purified from Group 1 foods (oils, fats, sugars, starches) or created synthetically (colours, emulsifiers, thickeners, flavourings). Ultra-processed foods are designed to be hyper-palatable, convenient, and shelf-stable.

At the supermarket: breakfast cereals, flavoured yoghurts, soft drinks, packaged biscuits, confectionery, instant noodles, many frozen dinners, meat pies, flavoured milks, and most snack foods. The ingredient list is long. Many ingredients do not appear in your home kitchen.

Red flags for ultra-processed foods

More than 5 ingredients listed
Ingredient names you cannot spell or pronounce (additives, emulsifiers, gelling agents)
Added sugars, syrups, or honey in sweet items
Flavourings or flavour enhancers listed (e.g., "flavour", "natural flavour", "flavour enhancer")
Colours or colourings (e.g., tartrazine 110, sunset yellow 110)
Marketing claims on the package ("natural", "wholesome", "fortified") that do not match the ingredient list
Designed for convenience (requires no preparation, long shelf life, individually wrapped portions)

Why ultra-processed foods dominate Australian shelves

Ultra-processed foods make up the bulk of supermarket shelf space because they are profitable for manufacturers. They have long shelf lives, survive transport, appeal broadly, and generate repeat purchases. They are also cheaper to produce per calorie than whole foods.

This creates a paradox: the foods that contribute most to diet-related illness (obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease) are the most affordable and most visible in the supermarket. One in five Australian households now experience food insecurity. When money is tight, a packet of instant noodles ($0.70) feeds four people. A dinner of fresh vegetables and meat does not, at least not for the same price.

How much ultra-processed food do Australians actually eat?

The numbers are stark. Australians in the top consumption quartile (the 25% who eat the most UPF) get 74.2% of their dietary energy from ultra-processed foods. Even those in the lowest consumption quartile get 28% of their energy from UPF. There is no escape from ultra-processing in a modern supermarket.

This is not a character flaw or poor planning. This is the default architecture of Australian food retail.

Can you avoid ultra-processed foods entirely?

No, and you should not need to try. Total avoidance is impossible for most families and unsustainable long-term. Ultra-processed foods include most breakfast cereals, all soft drinks, most packaged snacks, and most ready-meals.

What matters more is where ultra-processed foods sit in your diet. If you eat fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes, and meat as your main meals and reserve ultra-processed foods for occasional snacks or convenience meals, you are in a different risk profile than someone who eats ultra-processed foods for every meal.

The goal is not perfection. The goal is awareness and intentionality.

How to use NOVA in your own shopping

Start by noticing. Next time you shop, spend two minutes looking at your trolley and categorising items:

Group 1: apples, eggs, chicken, rice, tinned beans
Group 2: bread, tinned tomatoes, cheese
Group 3: cereal, flavoured yoghurt, biscuits, soft drink

Is your trolley 70% Group 1 and 2, with Group 3 as occasional additions? Or is it predominantly Group 3 with a few fresh items? Neither answer is shameful. This is just information.

Use Pinch to track the price difference. The cheapest way to eat well is often whole or minimally processed foods on sale. Fresh meat on 30% off, seasonal vegetables, dried legumes, and rice remain cheaper per serving than most ultra-processed alternatives, even at full price.

The role of Health Star Ratings and NOVA classification

In February 2026, the Australian government announced that Health Star Ratings may become mandatory on all packaged foods. There is also industry and public discussion about adding NOVA classification to labels, so consumers can easily identify ultra-processed foods at the shelf.

Neither system is perfect. Health Star Ratings reward high-fibre bran flakes and penalise whole nuts. But together with ingredient list reading, they give you more information than you have now.

The bigger picture: food policy and your wallet

Understanding what counts as ultra-processed food is not a personal morality issue. It is an acknowledgment that the food system is designed a certain way. Some families have the income to choose otherwise. Many do not. Policy conversations about subsiding fresh produce, restricting ultra-processed food marketing, or supporting small-scale local agriculture are what creates systemic change. Individual shopping choices matter, but they work against structural incentives.

Use NOVA as a tool for awareness. Use Pinch to track prices and find the cheapest whole foods. Use the label reading tips above to notice what you are buying. But do not mistake individual knowledge for individual blame.

Track before you buy

Pinch tracks 52 weeks of price history across 74,000+ products at Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, and Harris Farm. See which items are currently on sale and which ones stay consistently overpriced.

Download Pinch (free on iOS, Android coming soon). No ads. No data selling.

Sources

Monteiro, C. A., et al. (2016). Ultra-processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system. Obesity Reviews, 14(S2), 21-28.
Australian Government Department of Health. Dietary Guidelines Review and updates
CSIRO. Nutrition and Food Security Research
Foodbank Australia. Hunger in Australia 2025 Report