Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were the subject of a new lawsuit in the United States on Tuesday in which they are accused of designing and marketing addictive “ultraprocessed” foods for children, causing chronic diseases.
The lawsuit was filed before the Philadelphia Court of Appeals by Bryce Martínez, a resident of Pennsylvania, who alleges that he developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies’ products.
His lawyers at Morgan & Morgan, a leading U.S. plaintiffs’ firm, described the case as the first of its kind.
The other companies sued are Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General Mills, the US arm of Nestlé, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova and Conagra. The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In recent years, evidence has grown that highly processed foods are linked to a wide range of chronic health problems. Foods considered “ultraprocessed” include many packaged snacks, candy, and packaged soft drinks that use substances extracted from food or artificially synthesized.
The current Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, Robert Califf, has said that ultra-processed foods are probably addictive.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, has criticized the food industry and the FDA for failing to regulate it.
Martinez’s lawsuit alleges that food companies have long known that their products are harmful and have deliberately designed them to be as addictive as possible. He maintains that they are using the same “cigarette playbook” as tobacco giants Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds, who for a time owned the companies that became Kraft Heinz and Mondelez.
The lawsuit includes claims for conspiracy, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and unfair trade practices. It seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
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