German supermarket giant Aldi said it plans to buy two southern U.S. chains, even as grocery mergers have come under scrutiny from government officials over potential costs to consumers.

Aldi said Wednesday that it was purchasing the parent company of Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s chains, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, acquiring a total of 400 stores. Together with planned store construction, the merger would bring the total number of Aldi stores in the U.S. to 2,400, the company said, making it one of the largest chains in the country. 

The announcement comes as the Federal Trade Commission is deciding whether to approve a merger of Kroger and Albertsons which together have 4,996 stores. On Wednesday, seven secretaries of state published a letter urging the FTC to block that deal over worries that it could reduce competition in the grocery business and give big players more power to raise prices. 

“Once there is such consolidation in the market, many consume🐲rs will no longer have choice. Kroger-Albertsons will have no competitive incentive to bring down prices,” the letter said. “Consumers will be powerless to hold the company accountable to promises of keeping prices low.”

President Joe Biden has also recently voiced concerns over competition in the grocery store business.

“Just four supermarket companies control over a third of the market nationwide. And it’s even more concentrated at the local level, where consumers have had even fewer stores to choose from,” Biden said in a speech at the White House last month. “Groceries in consolidated markets will charge you more because you have nowhere else to shop.”

The FTC proposed new guidelines last month detailing how they will evaluate grocery store mergers, with an eye toward protecting consumers from price gouging, the same day the Department of Agriculture said it was launching a partnership with attorneys general from 31 states and Washington, D.C. to combat anti-competitive behavior by food companies. 

Shoppers have felt the sting of soaring food prices since the pandemic hit. As of July, groceries were 23.7% more expensive than in February 2020, according to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Consumer Price Index. While 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:grocery inflation has subsided lately, prices haven’t gone down much, squeezing household budgets and causing some to go hungry. The percentage of families reporting food insecurity, or not having access to adequate food, rose to 24.6% from 20% between December 2021 and December 2022, a survey by the Urban Institute found.