Medical Examiner What Even Is Ultraprocessed Food? It’s less a useful label and more of a vibe. July 12, 20265:40 AM Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. One of the biggest boogeymen around these days is ultraprocessed food. You can see dozens if not hundreds of news articles every week decrying the damage that these foods are doing to our health. UPFs are apparently responsible for everything from dementia to heart disease and virtually every other health problem in between. They’re so bad that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering “taking action” against UPFs to stop Americans from eating them. If you’re a lover of hot dogs,