Giant Eagle announced it is temporarily limiting the purchase of ground beef and on-sale meat items to two of each per transaction.

The supermarket chain had limited some meat purchases before, early in the pandemic in March, according to Dick Roberts, a Giant Eagle spokesman.

Meat isn’t disappearing from supermarket shelves, but the market is changing as demand for meat skyrockets. Adding to the mix is the impact of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses.

Consumers might see a smaller selection and higher prices.

Giant Eagle is working with several suppliers in each of its product categories, according to Roberts.

“We believe that the diversity within our supply chain will help us to offer consistent product availability in our meat department,” he said.

Giant Eagle’s temporary purchase limits are not “indicative of meat supply issues but are based on increased demand by some guests,” Roberts said.

The temporary limits on some Giant Eagle meat products is to discourage shoppers from buying in bulk and to have meat available for as many shoppers as possible, he added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed recently consumer buying patterns change quickly and some products face supply-chain disruptions. But the USDA said it planned a $3 billion purchase of fresh produce, dairy and meat to help stabilize prices.

The country’s largest supermarket chain, Kroger told CNN Friday it was imposing limits on customers buying ground beef and fresh pork in some stores.

Conversely, smaller markets such as Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market in Leechburg and Kittanning are limiting what they limit, as customers are not panicking and they don’t want to start one, according to Doug Sprankle, who owns the Leechburg store.

“It seems like our customers are calmer,” Sprankle said. “It’s just another day in the pandemic.”

“Our customers have been respectful of the supply and have not been overbuying.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, Sprankle’s added limits on ground meat as sales spiked. But the rush for the less expensive ground meat has died down and demand is back to normal, Sprankle said.

He credits being an independent store as helping at a time of market disturbances. “We have six or seven wholesalers we work with,” he said.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)