Tyson Accused Of Price-Fixing Chicken

Tyson Foods — the umbrella company that creates products for several well-known brands like Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee, Ballpark, and Hillshire — was accused of price-fixing chicken in a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The subpoena, filed Jan. 20, states Tyson "conspired with rivals" to fix chicken prices for years, according to Reuters.

The subpoena comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed in 2016 by U.S. poultry buyers who accused Tyson, along with multiple other major chicken producers, of fixing prices since 2008. The lawsuit claimed the chicken brands "manipulated and artificially inflated the widely used Broiler price index." A second lawsuit was brought against Tyson for including "false information" in its legal filings.

Tyson has declined to comment on the subpoena, only stating that it is cooperating with the investigation. Tyson also provided a copy of the filing, which can be viewed here.