Topline: The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the largest chicken processors for colluding to keep prices artificially high, a charge that has for years followed the industry but has never resulted in criminal charges before.
In a filing last week, the DOJ said it needed to halt the exchange of evidence leading up to a civil trial in Illinois because the agency doesn't want it interfering with its own grand jury investigation. The court filing was first reported by the Food Environment Reporting Network.
Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, Sanderson Farms, Peco Foods, Wayne Farms, Koch Foods, Mountaire Farms and House of Raeford Farms are the poultry producers being sued in that separate civil suit. But based on the filing alone, it is unclear which companies are being investigated.
Over the last three years, the industry has weathered several civil lawsuits from restaurants, food distributors, grocery stores and retailers that purchase chicken.
BJ's Wholesale Club, fast food chain Checkers, Kraft Heinz, Nestle, Sysco, Publix, Kroger and Walmart are among the parties that claim in civil suits that chicken companies coordinate with each other to limit production in order to increase prices.
