- On June 30, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed with prejudice an amended complaint which alleged that eleven producers of “Ultra Processed Foods” (UPFs) had sold Plaintiff UPFs that allegedly were addictive and caused him to develop Type 2 Diabetes and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). The initial complaint was dismissed last year for a variety of deficiencies including a failure to explain how consumption of the UPFs led to his diagnoses.
- The Court’s latest dismissal was principally based on Plaintiff’s failure to establish a causal link between consumption of UPFs and his injury. The Court noted the “unique challenge” in proving causation where a large number of products were consumed over a lengthy time period and found the allegations of increased risk of disease to be insufficient to show that any particular product caused the diseases. Any correlation would be insufficient to demonstrate causation.
- Relatedly, the Court rejected the application of a theory of joint liability. Application of joint liability is only appropriate where each defendant acted tortiously but it is not possible to determine who was the cause of the alleged harm. Such a theory could not be applied where the cause of the alleged harm is not established. Furthermore, application of the theory also failed because it requires showing that the allegedly harmful products are identical and share the same defective qualities. In contrast, the products at issue were different and the allegations implied “varying quantities and types of harmful ingredients, indicating varying levels of danger.”
- The case number is 2:25-cv-0037. Keller & Heckman will continue to monitor UPF developments.
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