CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — Top U.S. food distributors Sysco Corp. and U.S. Foods Inc. have sued the country’s biggest chicken processors for allegedly conspiring to inflate prices.
The distributors sued companies including Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Sanderson Farms and Perdue Farms in separate complaints filed earlier this year in federal court.
The U.S. chicken sector, dominated by these large meat companies, has come under increased scrutiny in recent years as customers and farmers have alleged antitrust violations relating to pricing, production and compensation.
Tyson, the biggest U.S. chicken company, and Pilgrim’s Pride denied the latest accusations. Sanderson Farms said it will defend itself against the claims, while privately held Perdue declined to comment.
U.S. poultry buyers previously claimed in a 2016 lawsuit that Tyson and its competitors had colluded since 2008 to reduce output and manipulate prices.
“Follow-on complaints like these are common in antitrust litigation,” Tyson spokesperson Gary Mickelson said about the lawsuits by Sysco and U.S. Foods.
