Keystone Foods' political action committee spending during the 2023-2024 election cycle, as reported by OpenSecrets, highlights the company's engagement in corporate political activities.

Keystone Foods was named in a labor antitrust class action lawsuit settlement, receiving $115.5 million as part of a $180 million total settlement. The lawsuit alleged that the company, along with others, engaged in wage suppression and illegal wage-fixing agreements that undermined worker compensation.

A GAO report, highlighted by Human Rights Watch, found that inadequate federal oversight during the COVID-19 pandemic led to dangerously overcrowded and unsafe working conditions in meat and poultry processing plants. The report notes that large meatpacking companies, operating under deregulatory policies which pressured them to continue operations during the pandemic, contributed to a high risk of illness among workers—a dynamic that raises serious concerns about labor practices in the industry, including for companies like Keystone Foods.

OSHA cited Keystone Foods for multiple alleged workplace safety violations at its poultry plant in Bakerhill, Alabama. The citation followed an incident on March 7 where an employee lost the tip of his left index finger due to unguarded machinery, and further alleged hazards included unguarded platforms, machinery risks, and inadequate safety procedures.