Kraft, Coca-Cola Beat Test Lawsuit Over Ultra-Processed Foods

Kraft, Mondelez, Coca-Cola, and several other major food companies have beaten a lawsuit accusing them of designing "ultra-processed" foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.

U.S. District Judge Mia Perez in Philadelphia granted the companies’ motion to dismiss on Monday after finding that the plaintiff in the case, Bryce Martinez, had failed to explain which specific food products from the companies were to blame for his diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Martinez, a Philadelphia resident, said he was diagnosed with the illnesses at age 16 after consuming the companies’ products.

The lawsuit was seen as a test case as it had sought to accuse the companies of using the same playbook as the tobacco industry in creating generations of Americans addicted to dozens of popular products. While the definition of ultra-processed foods is still being debated, researchers have considered it to apply to many packaged snack foods, sweets, and soft drinks made with substances extracted from whole foods or synthesized artificially.

Martinez’s lawsuit had listed more than 100 food products, such as Oreos and Doritos, but failed to name any that Martinez had consumed.

Representatives for Kraft and Coca-Cola, and Martinez's lawyer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.