Bottlers Sue Cargill Over Sweetener Cost
Two Pepsi-Cola bottlers sued Cargill Inc., accusing it of colluding with three other companies to fix prices on high-fructose corn syrup, a key soft-drink sweetener.
The two civil complaints, filed this month in U.S. District Court here, claim Minnetonka-based Cargill matched price increases initiated quarterly by market-leader Archer Daniels Midland Co.
The other sweetener makers named in the suits are A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co. of Decatur and CPC International Inc. of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
The litigation parallels a federal criminal investigation that came to light last month. Cargill, ADM, Staley and CPC are targets of a Justice Department probe into possible antitrust violations involving high-fructose corn syrup and citric acid.
No criminal charges have been filed in that case, which has involved a high-ranking former ADM executive who became an FBI informant.