Food & Beverage

Chick-fil-A sues 16 poultry processors for price-fixing

Sixteen chicken processors are named in a federal price-fixing suit filed in Chicago.

Photo: iStock.

December 7, 2020

Chick-fil-A filed a federal lawsuit against Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms and 14 other producers, alleging that they shared information on bids and price information to fix the prices of chicken products, which ultimately boosted the prices the QSR brand paid, according to The New York Times.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Dec. 4, claimed that the 16 poultry producers colluded with each other to manipulate prices to Chick-fil-A beginning in 2014 when the QSR said it would serve chicken broiler meat without antibiotics by this year.

The company said the poultry processors violated antitrust laws by sharing confidential bids via phone and text and used their power in the market for the products to eliminate competition without any justification.

Four of the defendants — Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, Pilgrim's Pride and Sanderson Farms — are also part of a 4-year-old class action around price fixing that Chick-fil- A has joined.

Defendants in that suit have disputed the claims. When contacted this morning, Chick-fil-A declined to comment.