Khaberni - Khaberni - The city of San Francisco in the U.S. has opened an unprecedented legal confrontation with "Coca Cola" and nine other global food companies, accused of "engineering" ultra-processed and addictive foods.
This has contributed to aggravating a public health crisis, especially within low-income communities and ethnic minorities..
According to the lawsuit, which was filed by the city attorney Chiu on December 2nd in the Supreme Court of San Francisco, the accusations include alongside "Coca Cola", major companies like "Kraft Heinz", "Mondelez International", "PepsiCo", "General Mills", "Nestlé USA", "Kellogg", "Mars Incorporated", "Post Holdings" and "Conagra Brands".
This case, according to American media reports, is the first of its type initiated by a government entity to sue food companies over the health effects of ultra-processed products, accusing them of designing hyper-sugary, fatty, and chemically enhanced food formulas to create addiction and generate massive profits at the expense of public health..
The city attorney Chiu stated in an official announcement that "food has turned into a product unrecognizable and harmful to the human body", accusing the involved companies of "engineering a public health crisis" and reaping enormous profits by that means, asserting that the time has come to take responsibility for the resulting damages..
The lawsuit documents revealed that these companies adopted intensive marketing strategies targeting children specifically, using cartoon characters and collaborating with major entertainment companies like "Disney" and "Nickelodeon" and "Marvel", and pointed out that Black and Latino children were exposed to advertisements for ultra-processed foods at a rate 70 percent higher than their white peers..
The lawsuit highlighted serious health repercussions, noting that diabetes rates among African Americans have quadrupled over the past three decades, while San Francisco recorded hospitalization and death rates due to diabetes significantly higher in African-American communities compared to other ethnic groups.
It also confirmed that about 70 percent of the food supplies in the United States are comprised of ultra-processed products, limiting real choices for low-income families, and pushing them to consume products carefully designed to create addiction..
Observers believe this step could pave the way for a wave of similar lawsuits in other American cities, striving to impose legal accountability on major food companies, and bolster consumer protection, especially for children and vulnerable groups, against business practices that place profits above public health considerations..
