Charities Might Become Major Beneficiaries of Settlement in Vitamin Price-Fixing Case
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
August 9, 2001 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Charities in New York will soon become the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in fines paid by international vitamin companies found to have engaged in price fixing, and charities in other states may get similar windfalls.
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ALSO SEE: Funds Available From Vitamin Settlement |
Twenty-one states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, have received $225-million as part of an antitrust settlement with six European and Japanese vitamin manufacturers accused of fixing prices on vitamins and vitamin products for more than a decade.
A portion of the settlement, $117.6-million, has been set aside for projects that help consumers who had paid too much for vitamins or products that include vitamins, such as bread, milk, pet food, and even beauty products. States have the option of giving that money to nonprofit groups in the form of grants, though most have not yet announced how they plan to distribute the funds.
The remainder of the settlement fund is earmarked for farmers and grocery store owners who were financially harmed by the price-fixing.
New York has announced that it will use its $19.9-million from the settlement to provide grants to nonprofit organizations and local governments working to improve the health and nutrition of state residents, as well as for research in nutritional, dietary, and agricultural sciences. Eligible projects include ones that focus on prenatal care, hunger relief, and child nutrition, according to the New York attorney general’s office, which started accepting grant applications in June.
The deadline for submitting applications is September 7; the grants will be for one year and will average $200,000. Grants will be awarded only for new projects or for an expansion of existing projects to new geographic areas or to help types of people who had not previously received assistance. The funds cannot be used for capital construction.
For more information on New York’s grant program, call the state attorney general’s office at (866) 792-1387, or go to the office’s Web site at http://www.oag.state.ny.us.
FUNDS AVAILABLE FROM VITAMIN SETTLEMENT
| Arizona | $5,127,000 |
| District of Columbia | $570,000 |
| Florida | $16,381,000 |
| Hawaii | $1,306,000 |
| Idaho | $1,350,000 |
| Illinois | $13,230,000 |
| Kansas | $2,887,000 |
| Maine | $1,361,000 |
| Michigan | $10,782,000 |
| Minnesota | $5,192,000 |
| Nevada | $1,921,000 |
| New Mexico | $1,910,000 |
| New York | $19,961,000 |
| North Carolina | $8,289,000 |
| North Dakota | $703,000 |
| Puerto Rico | $4,183,000 |
| Rhode Island | $1,086,000 |
| South Dakota | $812,000 |
| Tennessee | $5,962,000 |
| Vermont | $647,000 |
| Washington | $6,247,000 |
| West Virginia | $1,987,000 |
| Wisconsin | $5,731,000 |
| Total | $117,625,000 |
| Note: Figures are for discretionary funds available for states to use as grants to charities or other projects that benefit residents. | |
| SOURCE: Wisconsin Attorney General’s office | |
