Tyson Foods Settles Pork Price-Fixing Case for $85M
A significant antitrust case has reached a substantial settlement, with Tyson Foods agreeing to pay $85 million to resolve claims of pork price-fixing. This settlement, awaiting approval by U.S. District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis, is the largest in over seven years of litigation involving pork producers.
The case, titled In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, alleges a conspiracy among major pork producers, including JBS, Hormel Foods, Smithfield Foods, and Triumph Foods, to inflate prices and increase profits from 2009 to 2018. Dozens of supermarket chains, restaurant chains, food producers, and distributors have also filed lawsuits over the issue.
Tyson Foods, the last publicly traded company to settle in this litigation, joins other defendants like Smithfield Foods, which settled for $75 million in 2022. Data provider Agri Stats and Triumph Foods remain defendants in the ongoing case in Minnesota and Chicago federal courts.
With this latest settlement, the total consumer recovery from these cases has reached $208 million. The settlement requires judicial approval and, if granted, will bring significant relief to consumers affected by the alleged price-fixing scheme.
