(An incorrect RIC was removed in paragraph 14)

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Judge says lawsuit lacks details on cause of plaintiff's

illness

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Plaintiff's lawyer says they will explore options

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Case seen as a test for lawsuits over ultra-processed

foods

By Diana Novak Jones

Aug 25 (Reuters) - Kraft, Mondelez ( MDLZ ),

Coca-Cola and several other major food companies on

Monday succeeded in winning the dismissal of a lawsuit that

accused them of designing harmful "ultra-processed" foods

addictive to children.

U.S. District Judge Mia Perez in Philadelphia granted the

companies' motion to dismiss after finding that the plaintiff in

the case, 19-year-old Bryce Martinez, failed to connect specific

food products to his Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty

liver disease.

Martinez, a Philadelphia resident, said he was diagnosed

with the illnesses at age 16 after consuming the companies'

products.

The lawsuit was seen as a test case because it accused the

companies of using the same strategies the tobacco industry once

did in knowingly addicting Americans to popular food products

despite their health risks.

While the definition of ultra-processed foods is under debate,

researchers have considered it to apply to many packaged snack

foods, sweets and soft drinks made with substances extracted

from whole foods or synthesized artificially.

Perez said that the lawsuit listed more than 100 food brands but

Martinez failed to name any specific products as causes of his

illnesses.

Representatives for Kraft Mac & Cheese and Heinz ketchup maker

Kraft Heinz ( KHC ), Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers baker Mondelez ( MDLZ ) and

soft drink company Coca-Cola did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

General Counsel Stacy Papadopoulos of the Consumer Brands

Association, an industry group representing food and beverage

makers, said in a statement the lawsuit should never have been

filed.

"Classifying foods as unhealthy simply because they are

processed misleads consumers and exacerbates health

disparities," she said.

Mike Morgan, an attorney for Martinez, said in a statement

that they were evaluating options for next steps in the case.

"The scientific evidence demonstrating the addictive nature

of these products is compelling, and we remain confident in the

merits of our case," Morgan said.

Ultra-processed foods have come under more scrutiny during

the second Trump administration. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. said in May that the "central focus" of the National

Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration will

be on studying ultra-processed foods, sugars and food additives.

Also in May, a commission led by Kennedy issued a report

that said processed food, chemicals, stress and

over-prescription of medications and vaccines may be factors

behind chronic illness in American children.

Martinez's lawsuit alleged food companies have long known

their products are harmful and deliberately engineered them to

be as addictive as possible. It alleged they are drawing from

the same "cigarette playbook" as tobacco giants Philip

Morris and R.J. Reynolds, which for a time owned the companies

that became Kraft Heinz ( KHC ) and Mondelez ( MDLZ ).