Ultra-Processed Foods Addiction Lawsuit Alleges Manufacturers Used Big Tobacco Playbook

Complaint claims that after tobacco companies acquired major food brands in the 1980s, they repurposed nicotine addiction research and marketing strategies to engineer and promote ultra-processed foods.

A new wave of lawsuits alleges that major food manufacturers deliberately engineered ultra-processed foods to encourage compulsive consumption, adopting addiction-driven strategies long used by Big Tobacco.

According to a complaint (PDF) filed by Shastin Jenkins in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on January 16, companies including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestlé, Kellogg’s, Mars, ConAgra and others intentionally designed and marketed ultra-processed foods to hijack the brain’s reward system, particularly among children and other vulnerable populations.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) encompass a wide array of packaged snacks, beverages and convenience meals that are manufactured with high levels of added sugars, fats, sodium and chemical additives to enhance taste, improve texture or prolong shelf life, while offering minimal nutritional benefit.

As these products have become a dominant part of the modern diet, scientific research has increasingly associated frequent consumption with serious long-term health conditions, including type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Researchers have cautioned that children and adolescents may be especially vulnerable to these risks due to early and sustained exposure.

Additionally, public health advocates argue that food manufacturers have been aware for years that ultra-processed foods can encourage compulsive eating and contribute to multiple chronic diseases, yet the companies continue to aggressively promote the products to teenagers and young adults in an effort to establish lifelong consumption habits.

In response to these concerns, attorneys across the country are investigating ultra-processed food lawsuits for individuals who were introduced to these products early in life and later developed type 2 diabetes or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Jenkins’ lawsuit alleges that ultra-processed foods are deliberately engineered to promote compulsive eating rather than provide basic nutrition, a design she claims contributed to her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. The complaint argues that manufacturers rely on carefully balanced combinations of sugar, salt, fats and additives to stimulate the brain’s reward system in ways similar to addictive substances, even when consumers are physiologically satiated.

The filing goes on to say that internal research once used to study addiction and dependence was repurposed to develop hyper-palatable foods that suppress natural fullness cues and promote overconsumption. Jenkins argues that this engineering has contributed to rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, particularly among individuals like her who were exposed to ultra-processed foods from a young age.

Big Tobacco’s Influence on Junk Food Design

The complaint alleges that after acquiring major food companies in the 1980s, tobacco corporations imported addiction research, product-design methods and marketing strategies originally developed to deepen nicotine dependence.

Jenkins alleges that the same neurological testing and sensory research once used to make cigarettes more addictive were later applied to food formulations designed to override natural signals and drive repeat consumption. 

Her lawsuit further claims that these products were aggressively marketed to children, teenagers and vulnerable communities through bright packaging, cartoon branding and school-based promotions, while manufacturers publicly framed diet-related disease as a matter of personal choice rather than product design. 

The lawsuit also accuses the companies of failing to provide meaningful warnings to consumers, despite internal knowledge of the products’ health risks.

“As a direct and proximate cause of the Defendants’ aforesaid actions, the Plaintiff Shastin Jenkins was caused to suffer serious and dangerous side effects including type 2 diabetes and fatty liver damage, as well as other severe and personal injuries which are permanent and lasting in nature, physical pain and mental anguish, including diminished enjoyment of life, as well as the need for lifelong medical treatment, monitoring and/or medications, and fear.”

— Shastin Jenkins v. The Kraft Heinz Company et al

Jenkins raises allegations of negligence, failure to warn, violations of the Louisiana Product Liability Act, breach of implied warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent non-disclosure, fraudulent concealment, violation of unfair trade practices and consumer protection law, unjust enrichment and conspiracy consumer fraud.

She seeks damages and injunctive relief, including changes to marketing practices, increased warnings and greater transparency about how these products are formulated and promoted. 

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