Nestlé and other food firms sued by the city of San Francisco

Nestlé and other companies sued by the city of San Francisco Keystone-SDA

The city of San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against 10 food companies, including Nestlé USA. It accuses the companies of having triggered a health crisis with the production and distribution of highly processed foods.

The food companies have flooded the country with “addictive, highly processed foods with low nutritional value”, according to a statement from the San Francisco city attorney on Tuesday (local time). For the city, the “overconsumption” of such products, such as sweets and sweet drinks, crisps and breakfast cereals, is directly linked to diseases such as diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

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In addition to Nestlé USA, the defendants include Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Post Holdings, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars and ConAgra Brands.

The attorney for the City of San Francisco is now seeking, among other things, an injunction prohibiting the defendants from engaging in misleading advertising and requiring them to correct the effects of their behaviour. At the same time, the lawsuit seeks damages and civil penalties for the “astronomical health costs” of consuming these products.

A Nestlé spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday when asked by the news agency AWP.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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