Ultra-processed foods, typically high in salt and sugar, are driving epidemics of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension across the world. Today, illnesses like these are the leading causes of natural death in South Africa.
Awash in more processed food than ever before, an increasing number of countries such as Mexico, Peru and Chile have turned to new kinds of warning labels on food to help people make better choices at the till — and it’s working. Now, South African scientists say it’s time to do the same here. Could it work?