IAFNS at APHA in Washington DC
Washington, DC, United States
November 2, 2025 – November 5, 2025
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
IAFNS will be presenting on food classification at the American Public Health Association conference.
“Science-Based Principles for Food Classification Focused on Processing and Formulation – to Support Public Health”
Controversy has ignited around food classification systems, including those that capture ultra-processed foods (UPF). In 2024, the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was unable to arrive at a recommendation related to UPF intake and weight. Yet, global authorities have implemented policies and guidance around UPF. This talk will describe work of the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (www.iafns.org) to generate science-based Principles for classifying foods focused on processing and formulation, identifying areas of consensus across stakeholders with disparate views to support evidence-based policy. Decades of nutrition policy has thus far failed to positively shift population dietary patterns. In light of the interest and controversy around classification of foods focused on processing and formulation (to include as UPF), Science-Based Principles for Food Classification are needed to ensure that this classification leads to impactful research, dietary guidance, and policies that avoid unintended consequences.
A cross-disciplinary Writing Team conducted a literature and report review to document key issues and positives of food classification systems. Principles that point to specific actions related to the issues were subsequently drafted. The Principles were subjected to feedback from the food and nutrition community through several mechanisms including a public workshop in April 2025, prior to submission to a peer-reviewed journal. In this poster, the Principles and supporting rationale will be presented, as refined through the feedback mechanisms. Examples will be provided to illustrate how the Principles can strengthen research design, interpretation, and evidence-based policies.
Learning Outcome(s):
• Describe the diversity of perspectives on food classification based on processing and formulation from the published literature, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and other global authorities.
• Explain the knowledge gaps around the impact of specific processing steps and ingredients as impactful to health or health biomarkers.
Find more about APHA here.
This event is organized by the IAFNS’ Food Classification Working Group.