The US Justice Department has expanded its antitrust inquiry into the meatpacking industry by seeking information on beef prices from major food retailers, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg reports that the department demanded price data from eight retailers: Amazon.com Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Walmart Inc., Albertsons Cos., Kroger Co., the US unit of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV, Publix Super Markets Inc. and Aldi Inc. The request was disclosed in a DOJ social media post Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. The department said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, its No. 3 official, sent letters last month seeking the information. The material fact for markets is narrow but significant: according to Bloomberg, the DOJ is not only looking at meatpackers in an antitrust inquiry, but is also seeking pricing information from the retail layer where consumers see beef prices. The provided report does not specify what conduct the DOJ is testing or what period of pricing data it requested. For Amazon, Walmart, Costco and the other retailers, the immediate issue is the DOJ letters seeking beef price data. For the meatpacking industry, Bloomberg’s report says the DOJ has expanded its antitrust inquiry by demanding information on surging beef prices from major food retailers. Who benefits: Too early to tell from the provided reporting. Who's exposed: Large food retailers named in the DOJ request received letters seeking beef pricing data. Meatpacking companies remain within the broader antitrust inquiry, according to Bloomberg’s description of the probe.