Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, has started limiting how much ground beef and fresh pork customers may buy in some of its stores amid mounting concerns about meat supplies in the U.S.
In confirming the decision in an email to CBS MoneyWatch, Kroger cited the rash of closures at meat processing plants in multiple states due to outbreaks of COVID-19 among workers at the facilities.
First reported by CNN, the grocery giant did not reveal how many of its locations would be curbing customer purchases of beef and pork. Kroger operates more than 2,700 stores under multiple banner names, including Fred Meyer and Harris Teeter.
“At Kroger, we feel good about our ability to maintain a broad assortment of meat and seafood for our customers because we purchase protein from a diverse network of suppliers,” a spokesperson said in an email. “There is plenty of protein in the supply chain; however, some processors are experiencing challenges.”
More than 20 meatpacking plants around the U.S. have closed at some point in the past two months, reducing pork production by about a quarter and cutting beef output by about 10%, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers, a trade union.
Nearly 4,200 workers at 115 meatpacking plants have been infected with the coronavirus, and 20 of those workers have died, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC findings likely underestimate the scope of the problem as not all states with infections at meat plants have reported them to the federal agency.
— CBS News’ Max Bayer contributed to this story.
