Reuters —Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the US on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing “ultra-processed” foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.
His lawyers at the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major US plaintiffs’ firm, described the case as the first of its kind.
The other companies being sued are Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle’s US arm, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova and Conagra.
Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf has said that ultra-processed foods are likely addictive.
Martinez’s lawsuit alleges that the food companies have long known their products are harmful and deliberately engineered them to be as addictive as possible.
Persons:
Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Bryce Martinez, Morgan, General Mills, WK Kellogg, Sarah Gallo, “, Robert Califf, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s, Philip Morris, R.J, Reynolds
Organizations:
Reuters, Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General, Consumer Brands Association, U.S . Food, Drug, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, FDA
Locations:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mars