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DOJ expands beef price investigation to eight major grocery retailers
The agency is examining retail beef pricing, margins and purchasing agreements after opening a May probe into meatpackers that control more than 85% of U.S. beef processing.
- On Tuesday, the Justice Department's Antitrust Division broadened its investigation into beef affordability to include eight major grocery retailers in the United States, examining pricing practices and purchasing agreements dating to 2020.
- The move follows a May antitrust inquiry 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.
- Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. sent letters to the eight retailers regarding 'recent increases in the retail price for beef,' requesting records on wholesale purchases and pricing strategies from 2020 through 2026.
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins connected the inquiry to food security concerns, citing approximately 86.2 million cattle and calves as of January 1; President Donald Trump criticized the meat industry's 'nasty monopoly' and pledged processing alternatives for ranchers.
- Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a whistleblower program offering 15% to 30% rewards if information secures penalties exceeding $1 million, while investigators review more than 3 million documents seeking factors affecting beef prices.
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