Food Assistance:

School Milk Contract Bid-Rigging

T-RCED-93-63, Jul 21, 1993

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GAO discussed school milk contract bid-rigging. GAO noted that: (1) federal programs designed to provide price stability in the dairy industry may foster improper collusion on milk prices, but there is no evidence that these agricultural programs are responsible for improper bidding behavior; (2) the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) could benefit from a systematic process for sharing information on bid-rigging investigations; (3) USDA has not suspended or debarred any companies convicted of bid-rigging on school milk contracts; (4) other school-purchased food commodities are susceptible to improper contracting activities; and (5) USDA provides little training to help state and local procurement officials detect bid-rigging.