Harris, CristenYoon, Irene2024-10-162024-10-162024Yoon_washington_0250O_27476.pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/1773/52596Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2024In 2021, the world’s first certification program for upcycled products, called Upcycled Certified, was established to allow consumers to easily identify products developed with ingredients that would otherwise have gone to waste. Current research has sought to understand the potential of upcycled foods to address food loss and nutritional inadequacies while meeting the worldwide increased demand for packaged food. This study adds to this growing body of research, with a focus on understanding the extent to which upcycled foods are consistent with dietary guidelines that emphasize minimal consumption of ultra-processed foods. The Nova classification system was used to assess the degree to which Upcycled Certified products had undergone processing. After eliminating non-food items and products without sufficient nutrition data, the final sample demonstrated that over half of currently Upcycled Certified foods are deemed ultra-processed foods using Nova. Modern ultra-processed foods are increasingly different from those that have been associated with negative health outcomes in the past, and the benefits of upcycled foods extend far beyond planetary health. This study recommends improvements in the Nova classification system to reduce ambiguity and be more aligned with current research and for the Upcycled Certification to consider more holistic approaches to certification.application/pdfen-USnoneSustainabilityNutritionNutritional sciencesThesis