U.S. egg producers conspired to fix prices from 2004 to 2008, an Illinois jury ruled

Chickens stand in their cage at Rose Acre Farms, Monday in 2009, near Stuart, Iowa. An Illinois jury ruled Tuesday that several major egg producers, including Rose Acre, conspired to limit the U.S.’s supply of eggs in order to raise prices in a lawsuit first filed 12 years ago. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

INDIANAPOLIS — An Illinois jury ruled this week that several major egg producers conspired to limit the U.S.’s supply of eggs in order to raise prices in a case stemming from a federal lawsuit originally filed 12 years ago.

Several large food manufacturing companies including Kraft Foods Global Inc. and The Kellogg Company alleged in the lawsuit originally filed in 2011 that producers used various means to limit the U.S. domestic supply of eggs to increase the prices of eggs and egg products during the 2000s. The time frame of the conspiracy was an issue throughout the case; jurors ultimately determined damages occurred between 2004-2008.