Corrupt Sausage Makers in Germany Fined $460 Million

Twenty one German sausage makers are apparently the wurst and have been fined millions of dollars for price-fixing. According to the AP, Germany's antitrust authority has found that the 21 sausage manufacturers and 33 individuals have been "colluding on prices" since at least 2003. Now, they must pay 338 million Euro ($460 million USD) in fines.

A rep for Germany's Federal Cartel office tells Reuters that this so-called meat cartel consists mainly of privately held companies — like Wiesenhof, Ruegenwalder, and Meica — that formed agreements with each other "in an attempt to make supermarkets pay sausage makers higher prices." The Cartel office was "tipped off by an anonymous informant" and 11 of the companies fined have decided to "cooperate with authorities and admit wrongdoing." The sausage makers who were fined have two weeks to appeal the decisions.

· German Sausage Makers Fined $460M [AP]
· German Sausage Makers Fined [Reuters]
· All Germany Coverage on Eater [-E-]