Do ultraprocessed foods expose you to more food-contact chemicals than whole foods?
Yes, but the strongest evidence here is narrow. A controlled 2026 diet study found more ultraprocessed ingredients in the high-UPF diet and lower levels of one food-contact chemical after people ate the non-UPF diet.
What's actually in it
Ultraprocessed foods are factory-made foods with ingredients you usually do not use at home. These can include gums, starches, flavors, colors, preservatives, and packaging-related chemicals.
The concern is not one bite of one food. The concern is eating many packaged foods every day.
What the research says
A 2026 study in The Journal of Nutrition built 2 controlled diets. One diet was high in ultraprocessed foods. One had no ultraprocessed foods. The diets were matched for many nutrients.
The high-UPF diet showed more frequent detection of UPF ingredients, including guar gum and corn starch. In the non-UPF group, researchers saw lower levels of the food-contact chemical 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol and the heat-processing by-product N6-carboxymethyllysine.
This was a small proof-of-concept study. It supports the idea that eating fewer ultraprocessed foods can lower some chemical exposures, but it does not prove that every additive causes harm.
What to do
Cook simple meals when you can. Store leftovers in glass food storage so you are not adding plastic contact on top of packaged-food exposure.