San Francisco sues Coca-Cola and major food companies over ultraprocessed foods
San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against several leading food and beverage companies, including Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, Kellogg, and Mondelez International, alleging deceptive marketing and public nuisance tied to ultraprocessed foods. The city claims these products contribute to rising healthcare costs.
Filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the case accuses 10 corporations of violating California laws on public nuisance and misleading advertising. City Attorney David Chiu said the companies “created a public health crisis with the engineering and marketing of ultraprocessed foods,” transforming products in ways harmful to human health, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The lawsuit links the spread of ultraprocessed foods to increases in obesity, diabetes, and cancer, and seeks restitution, civil penalties, and restrictions on marketing practices. Researchers generally define ultraprocessed foods as mass-produced items made with industrial techniques and additives not typically used in home cooking, such as frozen pizza, soft drinks, chips, sweetened cereals, and instant soups. Studies, including a November Lancet series, have associated high consumption of such foods with elevated risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, and early mortality.
According to the CDC, roughly 40% of Americans are obese, while nearly 16% have diabetes. Data cited by the city indicate that about 70% of supermarket products in the U.S. are ultraprocessed, providing roughly 60% of calories for children.
The food industry has pushed back against the lawsuit. Sarah Gallo of the Consumer Brands Association argued that there is no universally accepted definition of ultraprocessed foods and that judging foods solely on processing could mislead consumers and exacerbate health disparities.
This is reportedly the first U.S. municipal lawsuit alleging that food companies knowingly marketed harmful ultraprocessed products.
Similar news
