State Closes Probe of Milk Price-Fixing

Major California supermarket chains, including Lucky and Safeway, did not conspire to fix milk prices, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren has concluded after an eight-month investigation. The study “found there is no evidence of an agreement to establish prices among the supermarkets,” Lungren said in a statement. A study by Consumers Union in September found that prices for a gallon of milk in California supermarkets were as high as $3.73, compared with prices as low as $2.39 in small neighborhood stores. The study prompted the attorney general’s office to launch its investigation, which Lungren said is now closed.