Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ), and nine other large food producers were found not liable in a case alleging they intentionally engineered ultra-processed foods to be addictive to children, resulting in a Pennsylvania teenager developing Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Also named in the lawsuit were Post Holdings (NYSE:POST), Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Nestle USA, Kellanova (NYSE:K), WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG), Mars Incorporated, and Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG).
U.S. District Judge Mia Perez granted Kraft Heinz, et. al the motion to dismiss on Monday, ruling that the plaintiff in the case failed to explain which specific products from the defendants were to blame for his medical condition.
Lawyers for the plaintiff argued that tobacco companies used the same “integrated marketing strategies that had been originally designed to sell cigarettes” to make UPFs equally appealing to children through cartoon mascots, child sized packaging and advertising designed to sell UPFs to the demographic where the tobacco companies have the greatest strength.
“In the 1980s, Big Tobacco took over the American food environment [through acquisitions] of General Foods, Kraft, Nabisco, Del Monte, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and others. During this time, they used their cigarette playbook to fill our food environment with addictive substances that are aggressively marketed to children and minorities,” the lawsuit says.
“Our goal is to hold these companies responsible for their alleged efforts to make ultra-processed foods as addictive as possible and get them into the hand of children.”
The lawsuit singled out more than 100 specific products from the defendants such as Oreas, Doritos, Kit Kats, and Chips Ahoy! that were “regularly digested” by the plaintiff.