San Francisco files lawsuit against manufacturers of ultra-processed food

San Francisco has initiated a lawsuit targeting major producers of ultra-processed foods, which health authorities link to decades of obesity in the United States, city officials announced Tuesday. Described as a pioneering legal move, the lawsuit names leading food and beverage corporations, including Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Kellogg.

"These companies have caused a public health emergency through the design and promotion of ultra-processed foods," stated San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. "They transformed food into products that are unrecognizable and harmful to human health."

Ultra-processed foodssuch as candies, chips, sodas, and breakfast cerealsare generally made from heavily refined or chemically altered ingredients combined with artificial additives. They often include colors, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, thickeners, foaming agents, and emulsifiers, and are not typically produced in home kitchens.

"Consumers want to avoid ultra-processed foods, yet they are everywhere. These companies deliberately engineered a public health crisis, profited massively, and must now be held accountable," Chiu added.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, aligns the city with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, which is associated with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy. Kennedy has consistently criticized processed foods, calling them harmful and linking them to obesity, chronic illness, and poor health outcomes, particularly among young people.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40% of Americans are obese, and nearly 16% have diabetes, a condition often associated with excessive weight.

The complaint, seeking unspecified damages, asserts that approximately 70% of items available in U.S. grocery stores are ultra-processed. It compares the food industrys marketing tactics to those historically used by tobacco companies, promoting products known to be harmful while downplaying the risks.

"Similar to Big Tobacco, the ultra-processed food sector targeted children to boost profits," the lawsuit states. "Brands surrounded children with persistent advertising, using cartoon mascots like Tony the Tiger and Fred Flintstone to attract attention. Despite awareness of the harm caused, these companies continued aggressive marketing and developed increasingly addictive products with minimal nutritional value."

Responding to the lawsuit, Sarah Gallo of the Consumer Brands Association, which represents many of the implicated companies, emphasized their commitment to supporting healthier choices and improving product transparency. She added, "There is no universally accepted scientific definition of ultra-processed foods. Labeling foods as unhealthy solely because they are processed, or ignoring their complete nutrient profile, misleads consumers and worsens health disparities. Companies comply with rigorous safety standards to provide safe, affordable, and convenient products that Americans rely on every day."

Author: Sophia Brooks