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Accepted manuscript

Do sustainable diets take food processing into account? A scoping review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2026

Matheus Santos Cordeiro Open the ORCID record for Matheus Santos Cordeiro [Opens in a new window] ,
Luana Lara Rocha Open the ORCID record for Luana Lara Rocha [Opens in a new window] ,
Bruna Aparecida Avelar ,
Alex Oliveira da Câmara ,
Dayan Carvalho Ramos Salles de Oliveira Open the ORCID record for Dayan Carvalho Ramos Salles de Oliveira [Opens in a new window]  and
Mariana Carvalho de Menezes Open the ORCID record for Mariana Carvalho de Menezes [Opens in a new window]
Matheus Santos Cordeiro*
Affiliation:
Postgraduate Program in Nutrition and Health, School of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil.
Luana Lara Rocha
Affiliation:
Post-doctoral Resident in Public Health, Medical School, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil.
Bruna Aparecida Avelar
Affiliation:
Postgraduate Program in Health and Nutrition, School of Nutrition, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto 35400-000, MG, Brazil.
Alex Oliveira da Câmara
Affiliation:
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), National School of Public Health. Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, RJ, Brazil.
Dayan Carvalho Ramos Salles de Oliveira
Affiliation:
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), National School of Public Health. Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, RJ, Brazil.
Mariana Carvalho de Menezes
Affiliation:
Postgraduate Program in Nutrition and Health, School of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, MG, Brazil.
*
Corresponding author: Matheus Santos Cordeiro, Email: mathheuscordeiro.mc@gmail.com
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Abstract

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Objective:

This study aimed to examine how food processing is addressed within indices/tools used to assess healthy and sustainable diets.

Design:

A scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR protocol. Peer-reviewed studies developing or applying indices/tools for assessing sustainable diets were included. Two independent reviewers performed the selection, with disagreements resolved by discussion and, when necessary, a third reviewer was consulted to reach a consensus.

Setting:

The review included studies published in English, Portuguese, or Spanish, without time restrictions, and indexed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SciELO databases.

Participants:

A total of 57 studies about sustainable diets were analyzed.

Results:

Most studies showed significant gaps in addressing food processing and other food system components when assessing sustainable diets. The majority of studies were conducted in recent years and primarily in high-income countries, and while environmental and health dimensions of sustainability are widely explored, economic and sociocultural dimensions remain underrepresented.

Conclusions:

The assessment of diet sustainability remains incomplete without accounting for the role of food processing and the broader food system. There is a need for comprehensive methodologies that integrate all sustainability dimensions while also considering local contexts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Keywords

Sustainable dietsSustainable food systemsFood processingNOVA classificationScoping review

Information

Type
Scoping Review
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 27
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society