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Lawsuit Accuses Major Food Companies of Marketing ‘Addictive’ Food to Kids
Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing “ultra-processed” foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.
The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges he developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies’ products.
His lawyers at the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major U.S. plaintiffs’ firm, described the case as the first of its kind.
The other companies being sued are Post Holding, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestle’s U.S. arm, WK Kellogg , Mars, Kellanova and Conagra. “There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the Consumer Brands Association, an industry group representing food and beverage makers, said in a statement.
How the FDA Allows Companies to Add Secret Ingredients to Our Food
It’s a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that most Americans know little about, yet gives corporations the license to add potentially harmful ingredients to foods without regulatory oversight or public notice. For decades, the FDA’s “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, designation has allowed food makers to decide for themselves whether certain novel ingredients are safe or not — even without providing evidence to agency scientists.
Consumer advocates claim the system has allowed companies to add harmful chemicals, including suspected carcinogens, to such products as cereals, baked goods, ice cream, potato chips and chewing gum. Now, President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Service promises to elevate the issue.
Common Foods May Lead to Colon Cancer
Ultra-processed food might be driving colon cancer risk by fueling inflammation in the body, according to a study scientists believe could “revolutionize cancer treatment.”
Scientists in Florida have uncovered a potential link between inflammatory foods in the diet and the growth of tumors in the gut, by analyzing the tumors of people with cancer.
“It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies,” said study author Dr. Timothy Yeatman, professor of surgery at the University of South Florida and associate center director for Translational Research and Innovation at the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute, in a statement. “We now see this inflammation in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won’t heal.
California Child Suspected of Getting Bird Flu After Drinking Raw Milk
Health officials in Marin County, California say a child with a suspected bird flu infection drank raw milk before getting sick. “[Marin County Public Health] is reporting a suspected case of bird flu in a child who experienced fever and vomiting after drinking raw milk,” according to a statement. “The child has recovered, and no other family members became sick, indicating no person-to person transmission.”
“MCPH is actively investigating this possible case of bird flu linked to raw milk consumption with the California Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the statement continued, further noting that “raw milk, which hasn’t been pasteurized, poses a risk of spreading diseases, including influenza.”
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Dietary Guidelines May Promote Plants but Punt on Ultra-Processed Foods
Have you had your beans, peas, lentils or yogurt today? Americans should eat more plant and low-fat dairy foods while limiting their intake of red and processed meats, sugary beverages and foods high in sodium and saturated fat, an advisory committee of health and nutrition experts that helps shape the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans said in a report Tuesday.
The experts reviewed decades of scientific research on diet and health. They concluded that the healthiest diet is one that consists primarily of vegetables, fruits, beans, peas, lentils, whole grains, nuts, fish and other seafood. They also encouraged eating low and nonfat dairy foods such as yogurts, cheeses, and milk and plant-based alternatives. The report, however, drew fierce criticism from some nutrition experts because it did not take a hard stance against ultra-processed foods, which many studies and some lawmakers have blamed for the nation’s rising rates of obesity and chronic disease.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has also said that he intends to crack down on ultra-processed foods as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
More Beans and Less Red Meat: Nutrition Experts Weigh in on US Dietary Guidelines
Americans should eat more beans, peas and lentils and cut back on red and processed meats and starchy vegetables, all while continuing to limit added sugars, sodium and saturated fat. That’s the advice released Tuesday by a panel of nutrition experts charged with counseling the U.S. government about the 2025 edition of the dietary guidelines that will form the cornerstone of federal food programs and policy.
But the 20-member panel didn’t weigh in on the growing role of ultraprocessed foods that have been linked to health problems, saying there’s not enough evidence to tell people to avoid them. And the group steered clear of updating controversial guidance on alcohol consumption, leaving that analysis to two outside reports expected to be released soon.
Overall, the recommendations for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans sound familiar, said Marion Nestle, a food policy expert.
Bird Flu in California Child Related to Virus in Dairy Cows, CDC Says
Federal disease trackers reported Tuesday that the first child diagnosed with bird flu in an ongoing U.S. outbreak was infected with a virus strain closely related to one moving rapidly through dairy cattle, even though there is no evidence the youngster was exposed to livestock or any infected animals.
The finding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the child, who lives in California, deepened the mystery about the spread of H5N1 bird flu, a viral ailment that epidemiologists have watched warily for more than two decades, fearing it could spark a pandemic.
The ongoing bird flu outbreak emerged this spring in U.S. dairy herds. Almost 60 people, mostly farmworkers, have been sickened. All experienced mild illness, mostly pink eye. In all but two cases, including the California child, officials determined that patients had direct contact with infected animals. The only other human bird flu case in which the source of exposure is not known involved an adult in Missouri.
Some Added Sugar Sources Are Worse Than Others for Disease Risk, Study Suggests
What kind of sugary treat you are having might change its impact on your health, according to a new study. Sugary drinks were associated with a greater risk of developing cardiovascular health disease than sweets like baked goods, said lead study author Suzanne Janzi, a doctoral student in nutritional epidemiology at Lund University in Sweden, via email.
The study, published Monday in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, surveyed nearly 70,000 Swedish men and women about their diet and lifestyle between 1997 and 2009. Their incidences of cardiovascular disease –– including strokes, heart attacks and heart failures –– were collected from the national health registers through 2019, according to the study.
Second Baby Dies in Listeria Outbreak Linked to Recalled Meat
A second baby has died in a listeria outbreak linked to recalled meat and poultry products. The eight-state outbreak was traced to recalled Yu Shang Food ready-to-eat meals that were sold in stores and online nationwide, according to federal officials.
A total of 19 cases have been reported, with 17 hospitalizations, in California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Tennessee, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
At least seven of the cases were related to pregnancy. In Tennessee, a mother and infant were infected and the child died. In California, a mother and twin babies were sick and both children died. However, only one of the babies and the mom were confirmed to have listeria. Two unrelated infants were sickened but recovered. Another pregnant woman was infected but recovered. The earliest case in the outbreak occurred in Oct. 2021, but the bulk of the cases were reported between December 2023 and October 2024.
Nationwide Recall of Greek Food Kits in Salmonella Outbreak
Greek food products have been recalled in connection with a nationwide outbreak of salmonella linked to contaminated cucumbers. The Family Gyro Kits were voluntarily recalled by Sprouts Farmers Market on Friday, Dec. 6, and announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday.
The kits used cucumbers in their tzatziki sauce which, Sprouts was informed by its supplier Reser’s Fine Foods, might be contaminated with salmonella.
There is an ongoing investigation by the FDA into an outbreak of salmonella poisoning in 19 U.S. states, involving 68 infections and 18 hospitalizations.
