The key path
- The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against 10 major food and beverage companies on Tuesday, accusing the companies of selling ultra-processed products.
- The lawsuit alleges that these products have caused a public health crisis and burdened governments with health care costs.
- Examples of ultra-processed foods include breakfast cereals, candy, and chips.
San Francisco has filed the first federal lawsuit in the U.S. specifically targeting highly processed foods like Pringles, Hot Pockets and Cheetos and the major companies that make them.
City Attorney David Chiu filed the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday against 10 food and beverage giants, including Coca-Cola, Nestle and Kraft. The lawsuit alleges that these companies marketed and sold highly processed foods that they knew were harmful to human health.
The city defined ultra-processed foods as formerly whole foods that were broken down and then reassembled with additives such as colors, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners. Examples include candy, chips, processed meats and breakfast cereals.
Lawsuits have accused these food and drink conglomerates of contributing to the public health crisis and emboldening governments with health care costs. The city seeks financial penalties and restitution to help cover health care costs associated with ultra-processed foods. It also requires changes in how these foods are promoted.
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Additional defendants include Kraft Heinz, Mondelez International, PepsiCo, General Mills, Kellogg and Mars — all major food and beverage companies whose brands dominate American grocery shelves. Brands exclusively affiliated with General Mills include Cheerios, Pillsbury and Progressive.
“These companies created a public health crisis with the engineering and marketing of highly processed foods,” Chiu said in a statement. “They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body… These companies engineered the public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for their damage.”
The New York Times It is estimated that 70 percent of the US food supply is highly processed. Recent scientific studies have shown that excessive consumption of ultra-processed food can lead to negative health outcomes, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Chiu claims the companies used unfair and deceptive marketing, including health-based messaging and kid-friendly branding, to drive consumption despite mounting scientific evidence of harm.
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The defendants responded to the claims in an emailed statement to their trade group, the Consumer Brands Association.
“There is currently no consensus on the scientific definition of ultra-processed foods and attempts to classify foods as unhealthy because they are processed, or by neglecting their full nutritional value, demonize the food, mislead consumers and exacerbate health disparities,” said Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of forecasting for the group, which included the statement.
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office has had success in public health cases before, such as in 1998, when it won a $539 million settlement from tobacco companies. Most recently, in 2019, the city reached a $21 million settlement with former lead paint manufacturers.
The key path
- The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against 10 major food and beverage companies on Tuesday, accusing the companies of selling ultra-processed products.
- The lawsuit alleges that these products have caused a public health crisis and burdened governments with health care costs.
- Examples of ultra-processed foods include breakfast cereals, candy, and chips.
San Francisco has filed the first federal lawsuit in the U.S. specifically targeting highly processed foods like Pringles, Hot Pockets and Cheetos and the major companies that make them.
City Attorney David Chiu filed the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday against 10 food and beverage giants, including Coca-Cola, Nestle and Kraft. The lawsuit alleges that these companies marketed and sold highly processed foods that they knew were harmful to human health.
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