U.S. Probes Claims of Poultry Price-Fixing
- Justice Department discloses criminal probe in court filing
- Food-maker, grocer lawsuits allege chicken-industry collusion
A package of Tyson Foods Inc. chicken.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that chicken processors, including Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. and Sanderson Farms Inc., conspired to fix prices.
Prosecutors disclosed the grand jury probe in a court filing Friday in Chicago, where civil lawsuits against more than a dozen companies in the industry are pending. Tyson, Pilgrim’s and Sanderson alone control almost half of the U.S. chicken market.