Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,
The Justice Department has added eight major grocery chains to its beef affordability investigation.
Ground beef for sale at a supermarket. Nata.dobrovolskaya/ShutterstockThe announcement came Tuesday in a post from the department's official X account. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward sent the retailers the letters concerning recent increases in the retail price of beef.
The list includes Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize USA, Costco, and Amazon.
The DOJ's Antitrust Division "has expanded its investigation to include 8 of the largest grocers when it comes to beef affordability," the post read. "Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department."
Nothing more was released about what the letters demand or when answers are due.
The department had already been investigating the big meatpackers. Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS, and National Beef handle roughly 85 percent of the nation's beef processing.
President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to probe the packers in November 2025, pointing to possible collusion and price manipulation. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in May the department had already analyzed more than 3 million documents. Ranchers, cattlemen, producers,
