Ultra-Processed Foods as Ingredients of Culinary Recipes Shared on Popular Brazilian YouTube Cooking Channels

Abstract

Social media platforms are readily accessible sources of information about cooking, an activity deemed crucial for the improvement of a population’s diet. Previous research focused on the healthiness of the content shared on websites and blogs, but not on social media such as YouTube®. This paper analysed the healthiness of 823 culinary recipes retrieved from 755 videos shared during a six-month period on ten popular Brazilian YouTube® cooking channels. Recipes were categorized by type of preparation. To assess recipes’ healthiness, ingredients were classified according to the extension and purpose of industrial processing, in order to identify the use of ultra-processed foods. Additionally, a validated framework developed from criteria established in both editions of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population was employed. Recipes for cakes and baked goods, puddings, snacks and homemade fast foods, which were among the most frequently posted, contained the lowest proportion of unprocessed/minimally processed ingredients and the highest proportion of ultra-processed ingredients. Recipes containing whole cereals, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds were scarce. Results indicate that users should be critical about the quality of recipes shared on YouTube® videos, also indicating a need for strategies aimed at informing individuals on how to choose healthier recipes or adapt them to become healthier.

Analysis of Recipes Shared as ‘Healthy’ in a Popular Brazilian Website: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Nevertheless, our study agrees with previous research, where most recipes online were found to be unhealthy according to the World Health Organization and the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency’s recommendations [ 19 ], including those that use a ‘healthy’ appeal in their descriptions [ 19 , 44 , 45 ]. Previous research in the Brazilian context, conducted on YouTube ® and not focused on ‘healthy recipes’, also identified the presence of UP foods as ingredients and a scarcity of fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds [ 43 ]. Our results help to fill a gap in the literature, revealing not only that the recipes shared as ‘healthy’ deviate from dietary guidelines, but also appeal to diet trends, body image, and physical exercise.…”

“…Weak and general categories were regrouped until strong or terminal categories resulted [ 49 ]. Analysis was carried out both deductively and inductively, starting with pre-defined categories: appetizers; breads; cakes and baked goods; homemade ingredients; meat or egg main dishes; non-alcoholic beverages; preserves; puddings; sauces; savory cakes and pies; salads; savory spreads and pâtés; side dishes; snacks and homemade fast foods; soups and creams; and sweet spreads [ 43 ].…”

“…Studies on the quality of recipes shared on the internet are scarce (albeit recent) and show that most recipes do not have healthy characteristics when compared to recommendations for healthy eating [ 19 , 43 ], including those that use a ‘healthy’ appeal in their descriptions [ 19 , 44 , 45 ]. The only two Brazilian studies identified on this topic evaluated recipes from websites and blogs, either aimed at a very specific audience (pre-schoolers) [ 45 ], or at social media (YouTube ® , San Bruno, CA, USA) [ 43 ]. Considering the vast sources of culinary recipes online, there is still a gap in the literature which prevents us from knowing whether they are, in fact, contributing to the promotion of healthy eating as recommended by national dietary guidelines.…”

How are food influencers' recipes promoting food literacy? Investigating nutritional content, food literacy and communication techniques in Instagram recipes

“…The research of Steils and Obaidalahe (2020) has only considered how individuals themselves contribute to food literacy via commenting on recipes, but did not study how the recipe itself provides information regarding the various Nutritional value of influencers' recipes Furthermore, despite the growing popularity of food influencers on Instagram, there has been limited research evaluating the nutritional value of the recipes they promote. Previous studies have assessed the nutritional quality of recipes from various sources, including cooking television shows, recipe websites and social media platforms such as YouTube and Pinterest (Ngqangashe et al, 2018;Schneider et al, 2013;Camargo et al, 2022;Cheng et al, 2021).…”

“…Recipe-related content can display the basic instructions and ingredients needed to prepare a meal or can go beyond and provide additional information regarding meal planning, food selection, preparation and consumption (Herrera, 2021). Previous research has focused on the examination of specific facets of food literacy, such as food safety (Melville et al, 2023;Geppert et al, 2019;Barrett and Feng, 2020;Borda et al, 2014), or the nutritional value of recipes from various media sources (Ngqangashe et al, 2018;Schneider et al, 2013;Camargo et al, 2022;Cheng et al, 2021). However, to our knowledge, an investigation into food influencers' recipes in terms of observing all various aspects of food literacy together as well as examining the nutritional value has not yet been done.…”