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PHILADELPHIA, PA – Bryce Martinez, represented by the attorneys at Seeger Weiss and Morgan & Morgan, filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging ultra-processed food manufacturers including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Coca-Cola, and Nestle, deliberately engineered addictive products and targeted children through deceptive marketing, fueling a child health crisis. Martinez, who lives near Philadelphia, developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at age 16 due to exposure to ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Nearly 73 percent of the U.S. food supply is ultra-processed, with these foods making up 67 percent of the average child’s diet. Exploiting the same research techniques as Big Tobacco, food, snack, and beverage manufacturers use knowledge of physiological functions to hack the human brain and formulate UPF products to evade children’s mechanisms for controlling intake. High consumption of UPF significantly harms the health of all Americans, but especially the 12-15 percent of children who are addicted to these industrially produced substances. Obesity and type 2 diabetes have tripled among children since 1980. Meanwhile, the UPF industry continues to spend over $2 billion annually advertising its addictive products to kids, disproportionately targeting Black and Hispanic children and intensifying existing health disparities.
“Major ultra-processed food (UPF) manufacturers have knowingly endangered public health in their reckless pursuit of profits, leading to a surge in obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses in children across the United States,” said Chris Seeger. “These companies’ tactics closely mirror those employed by Big Tobacco, with a singular objective: to addict kids to their products. This lawsuit represents a critical step toward challenging the food industry’s grip on American children and holding the defendants accountable for marketing and selling toxic substances to our youth.”
The lawsuit was filed in The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. For a copy of the complaint can be found at this link.
One of the nation’s preeminent plaintiffs’ law firms, Seeger Weiss is best known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions in both state and federal court. From offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the firm has represented over 10,000 individuals, organizations, and states and local municipalities across the U.S. that have been injured or defrauded on a massive scale. Since its founding in 1999, Seeger Weiss has led many of the most complex and high-profile cases in the country, including the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation, and the Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Litigation.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter.