A shopper walking through the aisle of a Tesco supermarket (Yui Mok/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)A central London Tesco appears to be storing sausages, bacon and other meat items behind a locked door “to protect stock and availability”.
A photo of a sign informing customers of the security move at the Tesco Express on Tower Bridge Road has been posted to social media.
It reads: “To protect stock and availability this door is locked. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.”
The sign has been stuck to the glass doors in the chilled meat section. The photo shows sausages, bacon and BBQ pork riblets behind the cabinet.
Tesco Express in Tower Bridge Road now keeps its sausages and bacon behind a locked door. pic.twitter.com/qxHEqoNdHq
— London SE1 Community Website (@se1) January 11, 2023
Tesco places security protection in individual stores for some higher value items, but it is not a universal policy.
It is far from the first supermarket to keep produce locked up.
A central London Aldi store reportedly kept sirloin steaks behind a locked door due to high levels of theft of the meat.
Consumer journalist Harry Wallop posted a photo of a sign informing customers that the steaks were “available by request”. Shoppers were told to check the availability of the steaks with checkout attendants.
“These items are request only to keep our colleagues and community safe from anti-social behaviour,” the sign read.
Mr Wallop reported that a staff member said the steaks otherwise “get stolen immediately”.
🥩In my local @AldiUK you now have to ask shop assistant for them to bring steaks from stock room. To stop shoplifting.
— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) January 6, 2023
I’ve seen security tags on high value products in supermarkets – but never this.
Grim times. pic.twitter.com/xKPaUlmfKu
Shoplifting cases spiked by 16 per cent in final three months of 2022, The Telegraph reported, as the cost of living drives more thieves to target supermarkets.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s were the most targeted supermarkets, accounting for two-fifths of cases overall, according to Freedom of Information requests by the Telegraph.
In England and Wales there were almost 275,000 shoplifting offences recorded by the police in 2021/22, the Office for National Statistics reports.
The year with the highest number of shoplifting incidents since 2002 was 2017/18, when there were 382,650 recorded.
In 2022 the policing minister told officers not to ignore shoplifters stealing food out of desperation during the cost-of-living crisis.
It followed a warning from chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke, who said rising prices will lead to increasing crime and pose a challenge for policing.
Tesco, UK’s largest supermarket group, revealed that its group like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, grew by 7.9 per cent over the six weeks to January 7, compared with the same period last year.
The retailer said this growth included “particular strength” in fresh food, with 8.1 per cent growth, as shoppers continued to spend on essentials amid pressure on household budgets.
The group also highlighted a 7.4 per cent increase in sales volume of its low everyday prices range after launching a “price lock” commitment on these products in October.
The price of food for shoppers jumped to 13.3 per cent in December, up from 12.4 per cent in the previous month.
