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Court Consolidates 27 Pork Price-Fixing Lawsuits Against Big Meat Packers

Consolidating 27 cases involving 146 parties, Minnesota’s District Court Judge John Tunheim wrote the order and opinion to merge all related pork antitrust cases pending in the District of Minnesota into In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, following the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued conditional transfer order.

“The Court will consolidate the cases for all future pretrial proceedings into a single multidistrict litigation (MDL) because the Court concludes that consolidation will best promote efficiency, prevent confusion and unnecessary complication, and prevent duplicative or conflicting decisions,” Tunheim’s order explains.

Consolidation will also allow the parties and the Court to generally file updates and changes in a centralized location, without the need to make minor changes to satisfy different case numbers, as well as improve the following of developments using one unified docket, the order adds. 

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Advancing Swine Disease Traceability: USDA's No-Cost RFID Tag Program for Market Channels

Video: Advancing Swine Disease Traceability: USDA's No-Cost RFID Tag Program for Market Channels

On-demand webinar, hosted by the Meat Institute, experts from the USDA, National Pork Board (NPB) and Merck Animal Health introduced the no-cost 840 RFID tag program—a five-year initiative supported through African swine fever (ASF) preparedness efforts. Beginning in Fall 2025, eligible sow producers, exhibition swine owners and State Animal Health Officials can order USDA-funded RFID tags through Merck A2025-10_nimal Health.

NPB staff also highlighted an additional initiative, funded by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services through NPB, that helps reduce the cost of transitioning to RFID tags across the swine industry and strengthens national traceability efforts.

Topics Covered:

•USDA’s RFID tag initiative background and current traceability practices

•How to access and order no-cost 840 RFID tags

•Equipment support for tag readers and panels

•Implementation timelines for market and cull sow channels How RFID improves ASF preparedness an