The Department of Justice has sued an Indiana-based meatpacking data firm in federal court in Minnesota, alleging the company allowed the nation's largest meatpacking giants to violate a 130-year-old antitrust law.
In a nearly 70-page lawsuit filed on Sept. 28, federal attorneys charge Agri Stats, Inc., of Fort Wayne, Ind., with an "anticompetitive scheme" enabling processors of chicken, pork and turkey to subscribe to an exclusive service that distributed "unique insights" about their competitors' prices and inventory.
The data that processors received — along with consultant services — helped the meatpackers align prices, drive up meat prices for consumers and generate industry-wide profits.
In an Oct. 6 filing, Agri Stats alleged the government had disclosed confidential information in the September lawsuit. Last Friday, DOJ counsel responded that information provided was not "competitively sensitive material."
"The Justice Department is committed to addressing anticompetitive information exchanges that result in consumers paying more for chicken, pork and turkey," Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said, in a statement.
Agri Stats is already the subject of numerous civil lawsuits, all making similar accusations of collusion. The service stopped providing information on turkey and pork in 2019 after drawing litigation from customers.
Federal authorities say the service violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The Justice Department alleges dozens of meat processors, including locally-known, Minnesota-based companies Hormel, Jennie-O and Cargill, were not only customers of Agri Stats but also "co-conspirators" in the scheme.
In a statement, Cargill said, "We believe claims of antitrust violations in the turkey industry are without merit."
Hormel and Agri Stats did not respond to requests for comment.
The Indiana company, according to court documents, is owned by a series of holding companies and was purchased from Eli Lilly and Company with funding from a Swiss venture capital firm in 2018.
