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The hidden cost of convenience in our changing diets 11 Aug 2026

A recent supermarket purchase left me reflecting on how much our food choices are changing. Like many shoppers, I was pleased to find a sachet of “cooking paste” attached to the vegetable oil I had just bought. I assumed it was the usual tomato paste, a convenient bonus for my family’s next meal. 

But after mixing the paste with a small amount of water and preparing to cook the popular Nigerian jollof, I glanced at the ingredient list on the back of the sachet. To my surprise, there was no tomato among the ingredients. Instead, I found the words “tomato flavour”, together with other herbs and spices. That unexpected discovery stopped me in my tracks. If a product that looks like tomato paste and is marketed for cooking like tomato paste contains no real tomato, what else are we consuming in the name of convenience?
 
This question extends far beyond a single product, highlighting a growing trend in which highly processed, additive-rich foods are quietly replacing the natural ingredients that once formed the foundation of our diets. To be sure, several sachet tomato pastes contain real tomatoes, and not every processed food or food additive is unhealthy or harmful. In fact, the World Health Organisation notes that food additives are used to extend shelf life, improve the taste, smell, and appearance of products, maintain consistency, and facilitate the large-scale production and distribution of processed foods. 

However, the more fundamental concern is the growing replacement of minimally processed foods with industrial formulations designed to mimic the taste, colour, aroma, and texture of real foods. Unfortunately, consumers are increasingly over-relying on these products, which contain flavourings, colourants, modified starches, emulsifiers, preservatives, and sweeteners that manufacturers use to create the desired eating experience rather than whole ingredients.

According to a 2024 review published in the British Medical Journal by researchers from Australia, the United States of America, France, and Ireland, 42 to 58 per cent of dietary energy across many high-income countries globally comes from ultra-processed foods. Based on a 2025 publication by the National Centre for Health Statistics, the figure is about 16 to 30 per cent in middle-income countries such as Mexico and Colombia. 

In the United States, adults obtain up to 53 per cent of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, while children and adolescents get almost 62 per cent. The latest nationally representative household data for Nigeria, derived from a 2018-2019 household survey and published in a 2024 report on West Africa by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), showed that processed foods account for 40 per cent of food consumed by Nigerian households, while 17 per cent of their consumption was ultra-processed foods. 

More recent OECD analyses indicate that this dietary transition has intensified across West Africa, fuelled by urbanisation and rising demand for convenience foods, among other factors. These analyses demonstrate that the nutrition transition from whole foods to industrially formulated ingredients is becoming global, and Africa is part of it. It is not merely a matter of changing tastes but a profound transformation in what we eat, which is not without consequences if unchecked. 

Many approved additives are considered safe at permitted levels, but convenience products made with such ingredients must not be relied on as the sole source of daily dietary needs. Natural foods are far more than the flavours they deliver. A fresh tomato, for instance, contains vitamin C, potassium, lycopene, dietary fibre, and dozens of other bioactive compounds that work together in ways scientists continue to unravel. Therefore, the familiar taste produced by some flavours or additives might not replicate this natural complexity when consumed.    

Several studies have linked higher consumption of ultra-processed foods to increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, colorectal cancer, depression and premature death. Although these conditions cannot be attributed to artificial flavourings or preservatives alone, the presence of high amounts of salt, sugars, refined starches, unhealthy fats, and many other additives, along with an overall dietary pattern of consuming them, could contribute significantly to the onset or progression of these diseases. 

Children are particularly vulnerable when they become overly inclined towards the perfect taste offered by these products. Because taste preferences are formed early in life, repeatedly exposing children to intensely flavoured processed foods or ingredients can reduce their acceptance of naturally flavoured foods. This will eventually make healthier foods less appealing to them. This can influence their dietary habits well into adulthood.

The greatest threat to our diets may not be a single food additive, but the gradual normalisation of foods that mimic or enhance the taste or smell of natural foods, rather than providing the nutrients needed to nourish us. Although manufacturers are required by regulatory agencies to list ingredients on their food products, it can be difficult for consumers to make informed choices if they do not understand what is on the label. Sometimes, the ingredients are printed in too small a font to read. 

In many cases, consumers do not read labels or are unfamiliar with the technical terms used for these additives. Moreover, marketing claims and attractive packaging featuring images of mimicked natural ingredients can create the impression that a product is made from real ingredients. Hence, nutrition education is as important as food regulation. Governments, health professionals, educators, manufacturers, and the media all have a responsibility to improve public understanding of food labels and ingredients, and to encourage consumers to consider not only packaging, convenience, and price, but also the nutritional quality and possible health implications, compared with natural or whole foods and ingredients. 

The challenge posed by food additives designed to mimic natural, healthy foods also presents a remarkable opportunity. Rather than sinking into dependence on additive-rich food products that are beginning to dominate the global food market, Nigeria and other African countries should invest in making indigenous fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and fermented food ingredients available all year round. These foods offer great potential to create natural flavourings, preservatives and functional food ingredients that could provide both good taste and nutritional value. 

There is therefore an urgent need to support research in this area and to encourage partnerships between universities and the food industry. It is also important for government and supporting partners at all levels to strengthen the local agricultural value chain by encouraging and monitoring food industries to incorporate more authentic ingredients into their products, and by supporting farmers to meet local demand. With the right investment and policies, we can have food ingredients that offer both convenience and nutrition while avoiding health risks. 

The cooking paste attached to the vegetable oil I purchased was more than a promotional gift. It is an indication that modern food is changing in ways many consumers hardly notice. Clearly, convenience, the perception that products containing artificial food ingredients are often cheaper than whole natural ingredients, and other factors are transforming our diet. But we must pay attention to what they are quietly replacing and the eventual cost should things go wrong as a ripple effect of their regular intake. Reading an ingredient label takes only a few seconds, but it may be one of the most important investments we can make as consumers for long-term health. 

Mojisola Karigidi, PhD, a Financial Nigeria columnist, is a Nigerian biochemist and the founder and product developer at Moepelorse Bio Resources. She is also a Global Innovation Through Science and Technology awardee and an Aspen New Voices Fellow.