San Francisco filed a lawsuit against 10 major food manufacturers, including Coca-Cola, Nestle, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Post Holdings, Mondelez International, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars Incorporated and ConAgra Brands, over the health impacts of ultraprocessed foods.
City Attorney David Chiu alleges these companies are responsible for a public health crisis, stating, “They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body. These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.”
The big picture: The suit claims ultraprocessed foods, such as candy, chips, processed meats, sodas, energy drinks and breakfast cereals, are linked to diseases like Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer and depression, even at younger ages.
- Chiu’s office says such foods are “formulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients with little if any whole food added” and are designed to “stimulate cravings and encourage overconsumption.”
- The Consumer Brands Association, representing food manufacturers, disputes the lawsuit, saying there is “no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods” and warning against “demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content,” according to Sarah Gallo, the group’s senior vice president of product policy.
Go deeper: The lawsuit cites CDC findings that most Americans get over half their calories from ultraprocessed foods and references mounting research linking these products to chronic diseases.
- The lawsuit claims the companies violated California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute through deceptive marketing and seeks a court order to stop deceptive marketing, require consumer education, and restrict advertising to children.
- San Francisco is also seeking financial penalties from the companies to offset local government health care costs related to ultraprocessed food consumption.
Flashback: The lawsuit’s filing comes shortly after California passed a law to phase out some ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade.
