Egg Producers Found Guilty of Price Fixing Conspiracy

A federal jury in Illinois has ruled that several major egg producers, including Cal-Maine Foods, Rose Acre Farms, United Egg Producers, and United States Egg Marketers, conspired to limit the supply of eggs in the U.S. between 2004 and 2008, resulting in inflated prices. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2011, alleged that the producers used various tactics to restrict the domestic supply of eggs. Damages will be determined in a trial scheduled for next week. The case also involves food manufacturers such as Kraft Foods Global, Inc. and The Kellogg Company, who joined as plaintiffs. The family company of an Indiana egg farmer, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is among the suppliers named in the lawsuit.