Ultra-Processed Foods Lawsuit

Lawyers for Bryce Martinez of Pennsylvania filed an ultra-processed foods (UPF) lawsuit against 11 major food companies in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County in December 2024. Attorneys filing the suit believe it is the first UPF lawsuit ever filed.

The lawsuit alleges that major companies — including Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola and Nestlé — intentionally designed and marketed ultra-processed foods to be addictive, mainly targeting children and leading to chronic diseases.

Attorneys nationwide may be accepting ultra-processed food cases.

The Martinez case could lead to more lawsuits and increased food industry regulation.

Future ultra-processed food lawsuits may use the Martinez case as a model. The initial lawsuit claims that Martinez developed type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) — formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) — at age 16 due to consuming the defendants’ products. Attorneys might include other severe and chronic conditions associated with UPFs in future lawsuits.

Lawsuits could argue that UPFs are harmful due to food additives and processing, comparing these effects to substances like nicotine. They may also assert that UPF manufacturers used tactics similar to those of Big Tobacco, including engineering their products to be addictive and aggressively marketing to children and minorities.

Like the Martinez complaint, future lawsuit claims may assert that UPF manufacturers practice negligence, misrepresentation and unfair business practices.

To date, there have been no trials or settlements of ultra-processed food lawsuits. There is no clear idea of how much money courts might award in a verdict or how much companies may pay in a settlement.

However, the injuries listed in the lawsuit include severe chronic medical conditions, and attorneys have likened the marketing strategies the companies used to those of the tobacco industry.

In one of the largest verdicts of tobacco litigation, a 1994 trial ended in a Miami jury awarding $145 billion in damages against five large tobacco companies. The money was distributed to up to 700,000 Florida smokers. The case garnered attention for being the most significant punitive damages award in U.S. history.

Like the tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s and early 2000s, ultra-processed food lawsuits target industry marketing practices and serious diseases related to a product’s use. So, verdicts and settlement amounts in UPF lawsuits could be substantial.

Manufacturers make ultra-processed foods primarily from factory ingredients and include additives to enhance flavor and promote overconsumption. They typically have “industrial formulations” with five or more ingredients you won’t find in most home kitchens.

The NOVA classification — created by researchers at the University of São Paulo — categorizes foods by processing level, highlighting their impact on health.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, ultra-processed foods account for 57% of the calories in an adult’s diet. A British study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that some children had diets consisting of up to 67% of UPFs.

You can take a few steps to identify and avoid ultra-processed foods. Start by checking nutrition labels. Ultra-processed foods often have long ingredient lists with unrecognizable items.

Stick to fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. Shop the grocery store perimeter and cook at home to minimize processed ingredients.

Impact on Children

Health issues that once mainly affected older adults now increasingly affect children, according to a 2024 article in The Pharmacy Times. Two of these — Type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) — are included in the Martinez lawsuit. Both have associations with obesity, as do UPFs.

The number of young people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes doubled from nine per 100,000 in 2002 to 18 per 100,000 in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents a 5% annual increase in new cases.

A 2021 study in Hepatology Communications said the high prevalence of obesity-related complications among adolescents and young adults with MASLD may be a result of “the changing food environment, where the availability of healthy food choices is limited while foods high in saturated fat and fructose are readily available.”

Testifying before the Senate in December 2024, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf acknowledged the “clear association between UPF and poor health outcomes” as a major concern.

There are various questions and concerns regarding how the government should regulate these foods. UPFs involve a wide range of products, and there isn’t a precise legal definition in the U.S. for what qualifies as ultra-processed.

In December 2024, the Human Foods Program collaborated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to host a two-day workshop. During this event, scientists and regulators discussed important information about regulating ultra-processed foods.

In January 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new plan to tackle the issue of UPFs starting on April 1. This plan aims to reduce these foods’ harmful effects on health and may include adding warning labels to certain UPFs.