Three food companies, including units of Kraft Foods and Unilever, have been fined €38 million for sharing sensitive competitive information, a German watchdog said yesterday.

The two and the German company Dr Oetker were found guilty of violating competition laws by meeting over a period of several years to discuss negotiations with retailers, the cartel office said.

“Competition was hindered by these actions,” a statement quoted office president Andreas Mundt as saying, “even though it was not a question of classic collusion on prices, territories or clients”.

A fourth major food manufacturer is still being investigated, it added.

Authorities were alerted to the discussions by a worker at the German division of the US conglomerate Mars, which under cartel authority rules will not be fined as a result.