The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some of the nation’s top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a public health crisis.<\/p>\n
City Attorney David Chiu named 10 companies in the lawsuit, including the makers of such popular foods as Oreo cookies, Sour Patch Kids, Kit Kat, Cheerios and Lunchables. The lawsuit argues that ultraprocessed foods are linked to diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body,\u201d Chiu said in a news release. “These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultraprocessed foods include candy, chips, processed meats, sodas, energy drinks, breakfast cereals and other foods that are designed to \u201cstimulate cravings and encourage overconsumption,\u201d Chiu’s office said in the release. Such foods are \u201cformulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients with little if any whole food added,\u201d Chiu wrote in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The other companies named in the lawsuit are PepsiCo; Kraft Heinz Company; Post Holdings; Mondelez International; General Mills; Kellogg; Mars Incorporated; and ConAgra Brands.<\/p>\n
None of the companies named in the suit immediately responded to emailed requests for comment.<\/p>\n
The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group that represents many food manufacturers, said companies adhere to the safety standards established by the Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods and attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities,\u201d Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the group, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been vocal about the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods and their links to chronic disease and has targeted them in his Make America Healthy Again<\/a> campaign. Kennedy has pushed to ban such foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low-income families.<\/p>\n