Four international drug companies will pay $7.7 million to settle a lawsuit over fixing prices of a vitamin food additive.

A Canadian class action lawsuit accused the pharmaceutical companies of fixing the price of citric acid from 1991 to 1995. Citric acid is a common food additive used in detergent, medicine, beverages and food products.

Total sales of the additive topped $104 million during that period.




Citric acid is present in citrus fruits including lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits. The acid is extracted and used to control acidity in foods.

Food manufacturers use it to shorten the amount of time they need to cook certain foods while maintaining nutrients, color and flavour. Many jams and jellies, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables contain citric acid.

Hoffman-LaRoche, Jungbunzlauer, Archer Daniels Midland, Haarmann & Reimer and a subsidiary of Bayer AG are paying out the damages.

The settlement will be distributed to The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributers, the Consumers' Association of Canada, the Canadian Association of Food Banks and the University of Guelph's agricultural college.

The vitamin price fixing scandal isn't over. Other pharmaceutical companies are facing price fixing lawsuits filed by consumer groups in Canada.

Option consommateurs, a Quebec consumer group, is heading up a lawsuit to get compensation for consumers.

In 1999, several large multinationals pleaded guilty to fixing prices of hundreds of vitamin products. The companies include Rhone Poulenc of France, BASF of Germany and two Japanese companies — Eisai Company Limited and Daiichi Pharmaceutical.

An FBI investigation uncovered a huge vitamin price fixing cartel where company officials met in hotels and homes around the world. They agreed on how much of each product they would sell and how much they would charge for it.

Canadians spend $700 million annually on vitamins.

The Competition Bureau has levied fines of more than $90 million against the companies and officials say their investigation isn't over.