Cal-Maine Foods settles DOJ and state AG claims for $1.5M, no fines

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) announced it has reached an agreement to resolve claims brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and 17 states' attorneys general, subject to court approval.

The settlement follows a 15-month DOJ investigation into whether egg producers, organized through a cooperative to supply cage-free eggs in certain markets, attempted to manipulate an industry price index by sharing bidding information. Cal-Maine was a member of the cooperative but exited in May 2024, prior to the start of the investigation.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cal-Maine was not assessed any fines or penalties. The company agreed to implement compliance and reporting measures. To resolve the states' attorneys general claims, Cal-Maine agreed to donate 30 million eggs to food banks and nonprofits and pay a total of $1.5 million to the participating states.

Cal-Maine denied all wrongdoing, stating it believes the claims are baseless and that its conduct was lawful. The company said communications cited in the complaint were made primarily by a single former employee and did not impact egg prices in any market.

"We are pleased that this agreement enables us to move forward so we can devote our full attention to what matters most: delivering affordable, high-quality eggs and egg-based prepared foods to consumers nationwide," said Sherman Miller, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods.

Cal-Maine is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Terrestrial Energy names Pamela Cowan as EVP of Engineering
• ZenaTech acquires Velocity Geomatics amid rising Canadian oil prices
• Veritone adds document redaction to its AI redaction platform