• The Wall Street Journal , Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:30 AM

Back in the day, unsatisfied crowds would pelt actors and vaudeville performers with eggs and tomatoes. Then the price went up.

In a probably unrelated development, the Journal reports that federal prosecutors have opened separate criminal probes into possible price-fixing by major egg producers and California tomato processors. Federal agencies already are pursuing criminal or civil inquiries in markets including fertilizer, cheese and milk to determine if suppliers have been manipulating prices.

Many farm groups and cooperatives are allowed to work together under antitrust exemptions such as the 1922 Capper-Volstead Act. The act, one of a web of loopholes carved out over the years, was originally meant to help small farms bargain with big processors. Egg and tomato producers say their cooperation is shielded by these exemptions. In stepping up enforcement in food, prosecutors are signaling a new willingness to test these exemptions' limits.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »