Food distributors sue Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride and others alleging collusion on chicken prices

The two largest U.S. food distributors are accusing top poultry suppliers of conspiring to limit stocks and manipulate wholesale prices, fueling a legal battle that has pitted buyers and consumers against chicken processors.  Sysco Corp. and US Foods, which sell food to hundreds of thousands of food-service customers, alleged in separate lawsuits that they overpaid for chicken meat for years due to collusion among Tyson Foods Inc.,Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Sanderson Farms Inc. and other companies in the $60 billion U.S. chicken industry. Spokesmen for Tyson, Pilgrim’s and Sanderson denied the charges and said they would contest the complaints in court.The food-distribution giants represent roughly 25% of the domestic food-distribution business, selling meat and other food products to restaurants, hotels, hospitals and other businesses across the U.S.Their allegations, leveled in suits filed in a federal court in Illinois, make them the biggest companies so far to accuse the U.S. chicken industry of conspiring to manipulate prices. The industry produces about 41 billion pounds of meat annually for grocery stores, restaurants and foreign-based buyers.