San Francisco sues producers over ultra-processed food

experts say has led millions of Americans into obesity during decades of over-consumption, the city said Tuesday. In what officials said was a first-of-a-kind lawsuit, the liberal California city is taking to task some of the largest names in groceries, including Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, Nestle and Kellogg. "These companies created a public health crisis with the engineering and marketing of ultra-processed foods," San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said. "They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body." Ultra-processed food, including candies, chips, sodas and breakfast cereals, are typically made from ingredients that have been broken down, chemically modified and combined with artificial additives. They frequently contain colors, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, thickeners, foaming agents and emulsifiers, and typically cannot be produced in the home. "Americans want to avoid ultra-processed foods, but we are inundated by them. These companies engineered ...