An American federal judge has summarily dismissed a 6-year-old civil lawsuit alleging that the following agribusiness groups, Archer Daniels Midland Co., A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co., Cargill Inc. and American Maize Inc., were involved in a conspiracy to fix the price of high-fructose corn syrup. Plaintiffs in the class-action suit included the beverage and soft drinks groups Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., which use the sweetener in their products. Chief Judge Michael Mihm of the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Peoria issued the ruling earlier this week. Patrick Mohan, president of support services at Tate & Lyle North America, formerly known as A.E. Staley, said his company was pleased with the judge's decision. "Obviously, it is a positive result and something we believed would happen," Mohan said. "It just reinforces what we've known all along, that it's a very competitive industry."
