The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some of the nation's top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a public health crisis.
City Attorney David Chiu named 10 companies in the lawsuit, including the makers of such popular foods as Oreo cookies, Sour Patch Kids, Kit Kat, Cheerios and Lunchables. The lawsuit argues that ultraprocessed foods are linked to diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer.
“They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body,” Chiu said in a news release. "These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.”
Ultraprocessed foods include candy, chips, processed meats, sodas, energy drinks, breakfast cereals and other foods that are designed to “stimulate cravings and encourage overconsumption,” Chiu's office said in the release. Such foods are “formulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients with little if any whole food added,” Chiu wrote in the lawsuit.
The other companies named in the lawsuit are PepsiCo; Kraft Heinz Company; Post Holdings; Mondelez International; General Mills; Kellogg; Mars Incorporated; and ConAgra Brands.
None of the companies named in the suit immediately responded to emailed requests for comment.
The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group that represents many food manufacturers, said companies adhere to the safety standards established by the Food and Drug Administration.
“There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultra-processed foods and attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the group, said in a statement.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been vocal about the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods and their links to chronic disease and has targeted them in his Make America Healthy Again campaign. Kennedy has pushed to ban such foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for low-income families.
An August report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that most Americans get more than half their calories from ultraprocessed foods.
In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade.
San Francisco's lawsuit cites several scientific studies on the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods on human health.
“Mounting research now links these products to serious diseases—including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and even depression at younger ages," University of California, San Francisco, professor Kim Newell-Green said in the news release.
The lawsuit argues that by producing and promoting ultraprocessed foods, the companies violate California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute. It seeks a court order preventing the companies from “deceptive marketing” and requiring them to take actions such as consumer education on the health risks of ultraprocessed foods and limiting advertising and marketing of ultraprocessed foods to children.
It also asks for financial penalties to help local governments with health care costs caused by the consumption of ultraprocessed foods.
FILE - Bottles of Coca-Cola products sit on a shelf at a store in Dania Beach, Fla., Oct. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Not before a bit of back-nine drama at Royal Melbourne, Rory McIlroy has made the weekend at the Australian Open after shooting a 3-under 68 on Friday to finish inside the 36-hole cut line.
McIlroy, who was 2-under on the tournament, was seven strokes behind leaders Daniel Rodriques (64) and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (66), who had 9-under totals of 133.
The leading pair were one shot clear of third-place Min Woo Lee, who shot 65 Friday. Adam Scott (66) was in a tie for fourth with Cameron Smith (65), who avoided adding to his tally of seven consecutive missed cuts.
McIlroy started the day at 1-over after a 72 on Thursday, tied for 57th and trailing the leaders by seven shots. At the time, that was just one shot inside the expected cut of 2-over.
He birdied one hole and had eight pars on his front nine Friday, then had four more pars before making a bogey on the par-5 14th. He missed the fairway to the right off the tee and ended up under a tea tree. McIlroy then whiffed on his next shot as his club got stuck in a branch but he recovered to make a 6.
That put him outside the 36-hole cut, but he birdied the next hole, the par-3 15th, to put himself back at even-par and safe, at least at that stage.
He parred the 16th to stay at even-par then perhaps made his shot of the tournament — from the patchy rough on 17, swinging through a small bush this time, where he tapped in for birdie after a long eagle putt went just wide.
That moved McIlroy to 1-under on the tournament and up about 20 places on the leaderboard, leaving him safe for the weekend, particularly after he birdied the 18th.
“With the wind, it played like a different golf course today,” McIlroy said. “I certainly haven't played my best over the past couple of days but it was nice to finish the way I did. Delighted to be here for the weekend . . . seven isn't too far back."
On his whiffed shot from under the trees, he said: “Not one of my finer moments but nice to be able to come back over the last few holes.”
Co-leader Neergard-Peterson missed the cut last week at the Australian PGA Championship.
“Certainly I feel like I’ve proved over the last year or so that I have the level to compete out here and be in the thick of things on Sunday,” Neergard-Petersen said.
McIlroy, whose pre-tournament news conference included comments that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild opening round containing six bogeys and five birdies.
McIlroy, the Race to Dubai winner, is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015 — he won it in 2013.
The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the European tour's new schedule of tournaments for late this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not already exempt will qualify for the British Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Adam Scott of Australia on the 9th Hole after completing his 1st round during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Ryan Fox of New Zealand reacts during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Elvis Smylie plays an approach shot on the ninth Hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Rory McIlroy. of Northern Ireland, reacts after putting on the the 11th hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
