Kevin McCoy

USA TODAY

Tyson Foods, the largest producer of meat in the U.S., on Monday disclosed a new federal investigation apparently sparked by private lawsuits that have accused the company and others of manipulating chicken prices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission served the Springdale, Ark-based firm with a subpoena on Jan. 20 "in connection with an investigation related to the company," Tyson said in a quarterly financial filing. The company said it believed the "early stage" investigation involved disclosures related to the allegations raised by the lawsuits.

Tyson (TSN), which sells a range of frozen and fresh chicken and other meat products including bacon, said it is cooperating with the SEC investigation. However, the filing also said Tyson has moved to dismiss the lawsuits, which accuse the company and more than 20 other chicken producers, including Koch Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, Perdue Farms and Sanderson Farms of using market manipulation to keep prices artificially high.

Tyson's disclosure represents the initial public indication that federal authorities are examining the allegations. The Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment.

Maplevale Farms, a direct purchaser of chicken, filed the initial lawsuit in Illinois federal court on Sept. 2nd. The legal action, which seeks class-action status, alleges anti-competitive collusion since at least Jan. 2008 in sales of broiler chickens, which account for roughly 98% of the chicken meat sold in the U.S.

Tyson Foods slumps, changes CEO

The court complaint accused the companies of conspiring "to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize the price of broilers" by coordinating their respective outputs and limiting production "with the intent and expected result of increasing prices of broilers in the United States." However, the companies' joint motion to dismiss showed that production has increased.

The companies "exchanged detailed, competitively sensitive, and closely guarded non-public information about prices, capacity, sales volume, and demand as part of the alleged conspiracy, the lawsuit charged.

Broiler prices have risen steadily since 2008, and remained high in 2015 and 2016 despite historic drops in the prices of corn and soybean prices, which account for as much as 70% of broiler costs, the lawsuit alleged.

The legal action was amended in November to add allegations that the companies may have manipulated a widely-used price index known as the Georgia Dock.

Subsequent lawsuits with similar allegations have been consolidated with the initial case for pre-trial purposes.

The price-rigging allegations sparked a series of investor lawsuits that accused the company of issuing periodic public filings that contained false or misleading statements about Tyson's financial condition. Those cases have been consolidated in an Arkansas federal court.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc