Abordagens dos alimentos ultraprocessados no contexto do ensino de química: uma revisão bibliográfica

Abstract

This research investigates the impact of consuming ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and the relevance of addressing this topic in the context of Chemistry Education. The objective of this work is to analyze the approaches present in the academic literature on the use of additives and chemical components of ultra-processed foods as generating themes in chemistry teaching. To this end, a qualitative and exploratory bibliographic study was conducted using the PubMed, Google Scholar, and SciELO databases (2020-2025), with a full analysis of 15 articles. The results show that the school is a central environment for scientific literacy, using UPF labels as a didactic resource for teaching organic functions, carbon chains, and chemical reactions. The discussion of the data reveals that the topic allows for the practical approach to complex concepts, such as cis and trans isomerism in fats and the toxicity of additives like caramel IVe. It was observed that contextualizing this content, combined with interpreting new nutritional labeling—a model like the magnifying glass—empowers students for critical and conscious consumption, mitigating the metabolic impacts of modern dietary patterns. It is concluded that integrating food chemistry into the school curriculum is fundamental to fostering autonomy and promoting the health and well-being of young people