Major food companies accused of marketing 'addictive' food to kids
CTV
Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing 'ultra-processed' foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.
Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing "ultra-processed" foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.
The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges 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 the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major U.S. plaintiffs' firm, described the case as the first of its kind.
The other companies being sued are Post Holdings, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle's U.S. arm, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova and Conagra.
The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Evidence has grown in recent years that highly processed foods are linked to a wide range of chronic health problems.
Food considered "ultra-processed" includes many packaged snack foods, sweets and soft drinks that use substances extracted from foods or synthesized artificially.
