Over the past few years, we've seen the publication of numerous research articles concluding that ultra-processed foods in general, are-harmful for our health.. Some countries have already modified their dietary guidelines to recommend eating less ultra-processed foods and they have policies in place regarding the use of ultra-processed foods in school lunch programs, but to date, the US has made precious few changes in their policies regarding the use of ultra-processed foods (Pomeranz, Mande, and Mozaffarian, 2023).[1]

Regulating the safety of food products on the shelves of grocery stores in the U.S. is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In theory at least, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) overseas the ethical performance of food manufacturing companies, and protects consumers from illegal business practices. Should we, as consumers, even be concerned about the ethics of food companies, as long as their products are FDA and FTC approved? Apparently, according to medical researchers, the correct answer is, "Yes". But a bigger question here is, "Why are medical researchers attempting to critique corporate ethics, when they should be spending their time and money conducting studies on health problems?" As we shall see, this issue is much more complex than it appears to be at first glance. Case in point: