Some of the country’s largest poultry producers are being fingered over long-term collusion
Picture: REUTERS
Pilgrim’s, which is majority owned by Brazilian food giant JBS, said it is “committed to high ethical standards, governance, and free and open competition that benefits both customers and consumers”. The company will “continue to fully co-operate with the department of justice in their investigation”, it said in a statement late on Wednesday. Penn didn’t respond to a message seeking comment sent to him via LinkedIn.
A woman who answered at Claxton’s headquarters in Georgia after a transfer from a receptionist declined to comment without identifying herself and hung up. While Wednesday’s charges are unrelated to the current crisis, they could signal that enforcers will be vigilant about issues in the industry. The justice department is also probing potential market manipulation at beef processors, and the US department of agriculture is separately investigating processor margins.
Chicken pricing is often based on a cost model for eight-piece bone-in chicken products, know as the eight-piece COB. Dark meat is usually priced at a discount to that benchmark. The justice department is likely to bring additional charges in the investigation, said Lisa Phelan, a lawyer at Morrison Foerster in Washington and a former prosecutor with the department. Pilgrim’s Pride is probably negotiating a plea agreement with the government, she said, and other companies in the industry could be targeted, which is typical in a price-fixing investigation.
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