Judge Dismisses Ultraprocessed Food Suit Against 11 Companies

A federal court judge dismissed a lawsuit of a Philadelphia man against 11 food and beverages manufacturing companies because of the inability of the plaintiff to prove causation regarding his diabetes and liver disease caused by ultraprocessed food, states Food Business News. On June 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Mia Roberts Perez refused to allow the man to amend the complaint. This is the second time that the court rejected his claim.

Perez pointed out that the complaint brings up a lot of very important issues related to the ultraprocessed food industry and the consequences for children’s health. However, at the same time, the law does not give Martinez the possibility to put an entire industry on trial. The filing fails to establish but-for causation because it does not bring any facts that the certain company or the certain product was the cause of his harm.

The court also said that the amended complaint uses a “shotgun approach” because it does not specify which entities and which products are responsible for certain wrongs.

The ruling also considered the correlation. Martinez argued that Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease have always been diagnosed among adults only, and due to the development of the ultraprocessed food industry starting in the 1980s, there is an increase in pediatric diagnoses. Perez said that it is a very troubling correlation. However, Pennsylvania law requires proving causation, and the complaint does not prove that every single one of the 179 products caused his harm.

Martinez was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at age 16. The court said that he was a regular consumer of 179 products that were ultraprocessed during the period between 2009 and 2021 and that included Kraft Singles American Cheese, Oscar Mayer Bologna, Capri Sun Fruit Punch Juice Drink, and Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese Spread.

Martinez also claimed that the companies manufactured unreasonably dangerous products without warnings to consumers about all the risks connected with the use of the ultraprocessed foods. He said that the products contain some different harmful substances, and that the very process of processing them is dangerous as well.

Defendants in this lawsuit are Kraft Heinz Co., Mondelez International, Post Holdings Inc., The Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., General Mills Inc., Nestle USA Inc., Mars Inc., Conagra Brands Inc., Kellanova, and WK Kellogg Co. (Kellanova is now owned by Mars, and WK Kellogg is now owned by Ferrero Group.)

Martinez filed the suit, Martinez v. Kraft Heinz Company Inc. et al as an 18-year-old in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County in December 2024. In the next month, the case was transferred to a federal court. In August 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania rejected the complaint because of lack of causation since there is no connection between the consumption of the products and his condition.

The Consumer Brands Association said that it welcomed the ruling. Stacy Papadopoulos, the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of the association, said that the claims have no merit, and the court has already rejected twice attempts to impose liability on some arbitrarily selected companies. She also said that the judge found amendments to be futile as well.

Papadopoulos pointed out that well-established household brands in the United States meet high science- and risk-based safety standards developed by the FDA. She also said that the association is committed to working with policymakers, regulators, and public health experts in order to develop policies based on the evidence to maintain the safety, affordability, and accessibility of foods.

The decision is based on what is pleaded in the complaint and not on any scientific findings regarding the products themselves. There is no response from Martinez and his lawyers included in the materials.

The decision also touched upon the term at issue. Perez said that ultraprocessed foods are not a regulated class of products and producers of such products should meet the same standards as other food products. One year ago, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a joint request for information seeking input on establishing a uniform standard. According to Food Business News, citing some published reports, the definition will be issued soon.

It may affect the pending cases as well. San Francisco’s city attorney filed a lawsuit against the same 11 companies in December 2025 and accused them of formulating and marketing ultraprocessed foods with addictive substances that are harming the health of people. In April, a woman from Wisconsin filed another federal case, Kreie v. Kraft Heinz et al and accused those companies and Unilever of causing her Type 2 diabetes because of their products.