Dec 10 (Reuters) - Major food companies, including Kraft

Heinz ( KHC ), Mondelez ( MDLZ ) and Coca-Cola, were hit

with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of

designing and marketing "ultra-processed" foods to be addictive

to children, causing chronic disease.

The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common

Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges he

developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,

diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies'

products.

His lawyers at the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major U.S.

plaintiffs' firm, described the case as the first of its kind.

The other companies being sued are Post Holdings ( POST ),

PepsiCo ( PEP ), General Mills ( GIS ), Nestle's U.S.

arm, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova ( K ) and Conagra

. The defendants did not immediately respond to requests

for comment.

Evidence has grown in recent years that highly processed

foods are linked to a wide range of chronic health problems.

Food considered "ultra-processed" includes many packaged snack

foods, sweets and soft drinks that use substances extracted from

foods or synthesized artificially.

Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration Robert Califf has

said that ultra-processed foods are likely addictive. Robert F.

Kennedy Jr., president-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has criticized the

food industry and the FDA for failing to regulate it.

Martinez's lawsuit alleges the food companies have long

known their products are harmful and deliberately engineered

them to be as addictive as possible. It argued that they are

drawing from the same "cigarette playbook" as tobacco giants

Philip Morris ( PM ) and R.J. Reynolds, which for a time owned the

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

The lawsuit includes claims for conspiracy, negligence,

fraudulent misrepresentation and unfair business practices. It

seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive

damages.