The Twenty-Second Label

52% of people now recognise the term "ultra-processed food". Almost none of them can tell you, standing in an aisle, which of two packets is the one they meant to avoid.

Awareness has tripled in three years. More than six in ten shoppers say they read ingredient lists. And researchers tracking this politely report that consumers are now "developing their own definition" — because the classification the phrase came from was built for population research, not for a Tuesday shop with a trolley and a child.

This 23-page field guide teaches a method instead of a slogan. Three looks, roughly twenty seconds, on any packet in any country.

Inside:

• Why "avoid ultra-processed" is too blunt to shop with — and what to ask instead
• The three looks, in a fixed order, and why turning the packet over first is the highest-value habit in the book
• The four patterns in an ingredient list that are visible at a glance — including sugar wearing several names to move down the list
• The one number to read per category, per 100g, compared against the packet beside it
• The health-halo test: virtuous compared to what?
• The five categories where the gap between versions is large — and the ones where it genuinely doesn't matter
• Doing all of it on a real budget, where the highest-value foods are also the cheapest

No fear, no forbidden list, no diet. The science on food processing is genuinely unsettled and the book says so rather than pretending otherwise.

23 pages · Instant PDF download · 2026 edition

Informational purposes only. Not medical, nutritional or dietetic advice. If you have a medical condition, allergy, or are feeding a child, the guidance you need is specific to you and should come from a doctor or registered dietitian.