(Dow Jones) -- The Justice Department's antitrust division is investigating whether large meatpackers that supply American consumers engaged in criminal anticompetitive conduct, after President Trump called for a probe of the companies last year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump in November accused beef companies of manipulating prices for cattle they buy from ranchers and driving up prices for consumers. Criminal antitrust cases are typically reserved for allegations of price fixing, market collusion or competitors rigging their bids to customers.

The Justice Department disclosed an investigation of beef companies after Trump's call for intervention. But officials haven't revealed that it is a criminal probe.

In his call for an investigation, Trump blamed "majority foreign owned meatpackers." A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

The probe follows a number of Trump administration initiatives aimed at tackling soaring beef prices, which have had little effect so far.

As part of the investigation, antitrust enforcers have looked into how beef companies buy cattle from ranchers through contracts that reference a pricing benchmark that some ranchers have complained is manipulated, one of the people said.

The Justice Department is taking numerous actions aimed at America's food-supply chain. The department is separately investigating the markets for eggs, fertilizer and crop seeds.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the department was preparing to file a civil antitrust lawsuit against some of the country's biggest egg producers over allegations that they coordinated pricing through an information service that benchmarks prices for the industry.