“It’s bonkers; my life has dramatically changed in six months,” she says, sipping camomile tea. “I do think there’s been a lot of talk in recent years, with amazing people like Chris van Tulleken, who wrote Ultra-Processed People and really brought the concept of ultra-processed foods more into public awareness. So I think it’s down to timing; people are now open to wanting to know more.”

• Half of toddlers’ calories come from ultra-processed foods

A native of Chapelizod in Dublin, Morris studied economics at university, but food was always on her radar. Attending the renowned cookery course at Ballymaloe was a “pivotal moment” that made her realise that she wanted to make food her career. It was also where she first had the idea for Kooky Dough, a ready-to-bake roll of cookie dough made with simple, natural ingredients. The concept grew into an enormously successful business in just a few years, but Morris admits to becoming disillusioned by the food industry. She eventually sold the business, but her first foray into the industry gave her first-hand insight into “food labelling; ingredients; what is actually regulated or not; what’s checked up on and what’s not checked up on,” she says. “That’s really where I got my experience from, in terms of what I’m doing now.”

Her most recent crusade, taken on with her two young sons in mind, has been for the providers of the Hot School Meals scheme to be transparent about their ingredients — but Morris’s biggest bugbear is what she deems “health halos”, where companies will highlight one positive aspect of their product, but do not give the full picture in terms of other ingredients used. Her approach, she says, is about offering people advice in a very practical way: instead of buying this product with a long list of ingredients, try this one — similar, but minimally processed — instead.

“I think we’ve just been shopping blissfully unaware for a long time,” she says. “It’s very clever consumer psychology: little buzzwords like ‘fortified with vitamins’ or ‘high protein’ or ‘low fat’ or ‘high fibre’. When you’re in a rush in the supermarket — and they’ve studied this very well — [such labels] do speak to people, and people do pick them up. And for a very long time these huge food companies have thrived on the fact that people are not checking the ingredients lists. They’ve been replacing real ingredients more and more with cheaper, artificial ingredients. ‘How can we make this cheaper? How can we slap on a health halo on the front to make people pay more for it?’”

The saying “with great power comes great responsibility” feels apt. As Morris’s profile has grown, so has the level of criticism on this type of content. Several dietitians are unhappy with nutrition advice coming from unqualified individuals. The former Operation Transformation coach Aoife Hearne kick-started a lively debate on an Instagram post in November.

“Food labelling is highly regulated in [the] EU,” she wrote. “Just because someone may not agree that these claims can be made on processed foods, suggesting they are somehow making false claims is not only misleading, it is dangerous. It is creating an enormous amount of anxiety around food choices that is not helpful or needed. For me, nutrition qualifications matter. It [is] essential that professionals with an expertise in nutrition, ie [a] registered nutritionist or registered dietitian, are the voices that the public hear and can trust. Someone who has qualifications in marketing has no place in advising the public when it comes to nutrition, in my book.”

Morris is unfazed. “And Aoife is absolutely right: the claim that you see that says ‘high protein’ is factually correct — it’s high protein,” she says. “But what I’m trying to make people aware of — and this is something that a health halo is — it’s a marketing tactic to get us to fixate on one small aspect of that product that makes it seem ‘healthier’ but distracts from the context of the overall product. [For example] a protein bar: yes, it’s high in protein, but can you recognise any ingredients in there? It’s so artificially concocted, with so many artificial additives and maybe lots of sugar. So that is what I’m pointing out: it’s the misleading nature [of certain labels]. It’s not [that it’s] not factual, but it’s a ‘health halo’, which is designed to get us to buy more, sell more and distract from the reality.”

• The scientist who bans ultra-processed food at home

Gary McGowan, a Cork-based doctor who has degrees in medicine and physiotherapy, is another online voice who regularly takes issue with what he refers to as “nutrition populism” on social media: apparently unqualified voices offering sweeping statements on diet.

“For many of the most popular nutrition influencers, particularly those shouting at bread in supermarkets, virality takes precedence over truth,” he says. “There’s also an unfortunate trade-off of excessive focus on specific ingredients, where people can develop such anxiety related to food that it compromises their mental health and overall quality of life.”

Morris accepts that her videos have also attracted judgment from some who claim that anyone who demonises certain foods is causing paranoia and anxiety among the public. She is fully aware that the topic of eating disorders is highly sensitive and must be managed with care and responsibility.

“The work I do is very different to the work of a dietitian,” she says. “With dietitians, a lot of their clients may be people who struggle with eating disorders — so are they seeing a bit of a biased narrative on the overall picture, because they’re the clients that they speak to?” She shrugs. “Nobody’s content is for 100 per cent of people. But I don’t think that I shouldn’t release my content — which is really helping drive awareness about ultra-processed foods, a huge public health problem — because perhaps it’s not suitable for people who may struggle with eating disorders just doesn’t make any sense.” She sighs, aware that it is a tricky topic and conscious of not sounding callous. “The average person does consume too much ultra-processed food. The average person doesn’t struggle with eating disorders. But I’ve always encouraged people that if my content triggers them in any way, please unfollow it. I just don’t agree with criticising other people’s content, unless the content is abusive. There’s a space for everyone out there and the numbers speak for themselves.”

• How to stop your teens (and yourself) eating ultra-processed foods

Others have praised Morris for her common-sense approach. Lorna O’Regan, a nutrition coach with FeelGood Health & Fitness in Clonakilty, says she admires how her reels are presented “in a way that encourages consumers to take action, be more mindful of what we’re putting in our bodies, and push for positive changes” within the food industry.

“In my experience as a nutrition and lifestyle coach, many clients come to me feeling confused about what’s good and what’s bad in terms of food — especially with the overwhelming amount of mixed messages from the media and food companies,” she adds. “I take a similar approach to Sophie when helping my clients navigate these confusing messages. I teach them how to read food labels effectively, and help them understand systems like the traffic light labelling system, which empowers them to make more informed decisions at the grocery store.”

It is undoubtedly a contentious space to work within, but there is no arguing with the fact that we should be eating less ultra-processed foods. The reality, says Morris, is that cutting them out altogether is unrealistic for most people; instead, we should focus on reducing and making mindful swaps when possible, adhering to “the 80/20 rule”, where you try to ensure 80 per cent of what you eat comes from whole foods, leaving 20 per cent for other less nutritious foods.

“Of course, we all understand that we should aim for a diet that’s completely whole foods but realistically that’s not the world we live in,” she says. “People are underresourced, they’re time-poor and we don’t have this village raising our kids. We work and we need a level of convenience. Let’s try to get 80 per cent of our foods from whole foods, cooking from scratch — and then where we can let’s swap out those really ultra-processed products for a clever alternative which is more minimally processed. And I think that’s really empowering people.”