Industrial processing of Ecuadorian household food acquisitions according to NOVA, socioeconomic status and territory.

Abstract

Introduction: Household food-acquisition data can characterise the technological structure of food systems without equating monetary expenditure with individual dietary intake. This study quantified the monetary distribution of Ecuadorian household food acquisitions according to NOVA and examined socioeconomic and territorial patterning.

Methods: We analysed 35,398 households from the 2024-2025 Ecuadorian National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure (ENIGHUR), accounting for survey weights, strata and primary sampling units. Of 899 detailed food and non-alcoholic beverage fields, 840 recorded positive expenditure. Products were classified using NOVA through an explicit uncertainty audit, with fourteen categories retained as REVIEW. National and domain estimates, survey-weighted fractional logit models, sensitivity analyses and weighted principal component analysis were performed.

Results: Weighted national expenditure shares were 72.91% for NOVA 1, 3.11% for NOVA 2, 11.74% for NOVA 3 and 12.25% for NOVA 4. The NOVA 4 share increased from 9.82% in the first income decile to 15.94% in the tenth. Fractional logit modelling confirmed a positive association with income and a significant income-by-urban-residence interaction, with greater urban divergence at higher income levels. Alternative classification of REVIEW items changed the national NOVA 4 estimate only from 12.21% to 12.53%. Weighted PCA retained three components explaining 54.44% of variance.

Discussion: Minimally processed foods remained the dominant component of household monetary acquisitions, while NOVA 4 products were widely present and showed clear socioeconomic and territorial patterning. The small sensitivity range supports the robustness of the classification. These findings provide a reproducible national baseline for monitoring changes in Ecuadorian household food acquisitions by degree of industrial processing.