Hormel Foods is the latest U.S. pork producer to reach a settlement in the ongoing allegations of a price-fixing conspiracy in the meat industry. In the first settlement round, Hormel will pay $2.43 million to the commercial indirect purchaser class in the case.
“Meat and Poultry” says court documents reveal this is the third settlement between commercial and institutional indirect purchasers following earlier settlements with JBS and Smithfield Foods. The monetary relief in the case is now up to more than $57 million. The price-fixing litigation dates back to 2018. The allegations were consolidated and transferred to a Minnesota district judge in December 2022.
Seaboards Foods LLC previously reached a settlement with plaintiffs in which it agreed to pay almost $10 million. Plaintiffs previously alleged that a group of pork processors who control 80 percent of the pork market manipulated the market in an attempt to keep a ceiling on prices.
