DOJ expands beef price investigation to eight major grocery retailers
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The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division said Tuesday that it had broadened its investigation into beef affordability to include eight of the largest grocery retailers in the United States.
The move follows the DOJ’s May launch of an antitrust investigation into the "Big Four" meatpackers — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef — which the department said account for more than 85% of U.S. beef processing.
Dig deeper:
The expanded inquiry extends the federal government’s focus to the retail portion of the food supply chain.
The retailers named in the investigation are Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize, Costco and Amazon.
According to the Justice Department, Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. sent letters to all eight companies concerning "recent increases in the retail price for beef."
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"Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department," the DOJ wrote on X.
What they're saying:
Letters obtained by FOX Business outline the investigation’s scope. Federal antitrust officials are examining the retailers’ beef-pricing practices, profit margins, costs and purchasing agreements dating to 2020.
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"The Antitrust Division is assessing trends in beef prices — a matter of critical concern to the American public, and a priority for the United States Department of Justice," Woodward wrote in identical letters dated July 14 and sent separately to each company.
What's next:
The department said it would request records concerning the companies’ retail beef sales and prices, wholesale purchases, costs and margins, pricing and purchasing strategies, and analyses of wholesale and retail beef-price trends.
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The backstory:
Investigators are also seeking information about other factors that may be affecting beef prices.
The DOJ asked company representatives to brief investigators on four areas, including changes in beef-pricing strategies and margins from 2020 through 2026, cost changes during that period and wholesale agreements for purchasing beef from meatpackers.
After announcing its investigation into possible antitrust violations in the U.S. cattle and beef markets in May, the Justice Department said it was reviewing more than 3 million documents and interviewing industry participants.
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Federal officials are investigating whether industry concentration among meatpackers has contributed to elevated beef prices.
At a news conference in May, Attorney General Todd Blanche said whistleblowers could receive significant rewards for information resulting in successful enforcement actions.
"If the information you provide helps us secure a criminal penalty in excess of $1 million, you can be entitled to recover and receive 15% to 30% of the money that we recover," Blanche said, describing the DOJ’s whistleblower rewards program.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins connected the investigation to broader concerns about food security and declining domestic cattle supplies. She said the U.S. had approximately 86.2 million cattle and calves as of Jan. 1 — "the lowest since the 1950s."
Last week, President Donald Trump said he would authorize the preparation of legal documents intended to give farmers and ranchers "the right to process their own food." He described the effort as a way to challenge what he called a "nasty monopoly" in the meat industry.
The proposal would give ranchers another option for bypassing the major meatpacking companies that operate between cattle producers and grocery-store shelves. It followed criticism from farm country over Trump’s decision to permit additional foreign beef imports.
Trump made the announcement after cattle producers and some Republicans objected to his plan to temporarily allow tariff-free imports of up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef. The measure was intended to reduce pressure on consumers facing high meat prices.
The other side:
FOX Business also contacted Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Costco and Amazon for comment. A representative for Ahold Delhaize declined to comment.
The Source: FOX Business contributed to this report. The story’s information came primarily from the U.S. Department of Justice, including its announcement, posts on X and letters sent by Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. to the grocery retailers. It also cited comments from Attorney General Todd Blanche and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, President Donald Trump’s public statements, and responses—or lack of responses—from the companies contacted by FOX Business. This story was reported from Los Angeles.