Friday, October 21, 2022

Smithfield settles lawsuits


 A judge in Minnesota has approved a $42-million deal Smithfield Foods made with foodservice operators to settle a pork price-fixing lawsuit.


The company has also reached an $83 million settlement with wholesalers and a $75 million agreement with consumers, announced last month.


Smithfield has denied liability in the cases and said it believes its conduct has always been lawful, but negotiating a settlement was in the best interest of the company.


Originally filed in 2018, the case alleged price-fixing behavior by Clemens, Hormel, Indiana Packers, JBS USA, Seaboard Foods, Triumph Foods, and Tyson, along with the data analysis firm Agri Stats.