AUSTIN, Minn. – Hormel Foods suspended The Maschhoffs LLC as its pork supplier pending an investigation into claims of animal cruelty at a sow facility in Nebraska.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently released undercover video taken at a breeding facility owned by The Maschhoffs, which is the third-largest pork producer in the United States. Hormel said it is suspending all of The Maschhoffs Nebraska sow operations while the company investigates the issue.

“Hormel Foods Corporation has dispatched certified third-party auditors to these Nebraska farms and to additional Maschhoff sites to verify our animal care requirements are being adhered to,” Hormel said in a statement.  “We expect, and have been assured, that The Maschhoffs, LLC will cooperate with authorities in any criminal investigation or prosecution.”

The Animal Legal Defense Fund urged Attorneys General Doug Peterson of Nebraska and Lisa Madigan of Illinois — where The Maschhoffs maintain headquarters — to investigate the matter. The organization is alleging consumer fraud and unfair business practices stemming from animal cruelty.