Tyson, Cargill, Hormel, Butterball to Face Turkey Cartel Claims

Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp., Butterball LLC, and other top poultry processors must face retailer claims that they schemed to inflate the price of turkey, but Kraft Heinz Food Co. is off the hook, a federal judge in Chicago ruled, a week after a parallel decision in a case brought by wholesalers.

Greenlighting the antitrust lawsuit, Judge Virginia M. Kendall said it plausibly alleged a “hub and spoke” conspiracy involving illegal exchanges of sensitive information through Agri Stats Inc., an Eli Lilly & Co. subsidiary that runs agricultural industry databases.

She rejected the argument ...