"Ultra-processed foods" is just a fancy way of saying "junk food" and just as meaningless in a technical discussion. What it really means is food we've assigned a low moral value to. As health is not a moral judgement but a physical reality, it shouldn't be brought up in a technically discussion. Definitionally, a loaf of fresh baked whole wheat bread has been much more heavily processed than a bag of potato chips. But that's not reflective of which one would be labeled as "ultra-processed".

Refrigeration is one of the worst thing that happened to food.

This is such a stupid comment it can only be made from a position of incredible ignorance.

My friend just returned from Florence and echoed the same aspects about the freshness and tastiness of Italian cuisine.

First, there's no such thing as "Italian" cuisine. "Italy" didn't exist before 1861. To conflate the cuisines of Genoa, Venice, Naples, Rome, Tuscany, Sardinia, and Sicily as one entity is ahistorical nonsense and the product of a literal imperial/colonial propaganda campaign. Second, most of what is considered "Italian" cuisine in the anglophone world is a product of transatlantic cross-polination with expat communities in the New World. Half of the supposedly quintessential Italian dishes you could probably name were actually originated in New York or Pennsylvania. Finally, you friend had good food in Italy because he was on vacation. This starts you off on the right foot as you're in a good mood to begin with and not really harried with a schedule and can enjoy your meals. You're also more likely to eat more expensive meals and at higher quality restaurants than you would normally. Don't lt vacation vibes confuse your mind.