Costco, Kroger, Giant Eagle Issue Meat Limits Amid COVID-19 Processing Plant Shutdowns

With a number of meat processing plants shutting down over COVID-19 fears, grocers such as Kroger (KR), Costco (COST), and Giant Eagle are limiting the amount of fresh meat that consumers can buy at any one time.

Costco announced on Monday that its stores will only allow shoppers to buy a total of three fresh meat items per membership. The meat limitations apply to beef, pork, and poultry products and is a temporary restriction during the coronavirus pandemic.

Costco previously enacted limits other high demand items such as toilet paper, rice, hand sanitizer, water, sanitizing wipes, paper towel, and disinfecting sprays. Costco is also not taking returns on any of these products.

Kroger joins Costco in limiting the amount of meat that can be bought at certain stores, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The company reportedly said that it will be limiting ground beef, chicken, and pork purchases, but did not indicate exactly which stores would have the limitations.

In a statement, Kroger said (via The Columbus Dispatch), “ 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. There is plenty of protein in the supply chain; however, some processors are experiencing challenges.”

Giant Eagle is also limiting meat purchases to two items per shopping trip, including ground beef and on-sale meat items. Giant Eagle said the restriction is “to ensure availability of popular items.”

Shares of Kroger stock were up 2.11% as of 3:25 p.m. EDT on Monday while shares of Costco stock were up 1.16% at the same time.