Supermarkets across Europe race to remove food after hackers sabotage refrigeration systems

Supermarkets across Europe are racing to remove chilled and frozen food from their shelves after a series of cyberattacks disrupted refrigeration systems, raising fresh concerns about the vulnerability of critical retail infrastructure to digital sabotage.

At least 40 supermarkets in Belgium were reportedly affected, with refrigeration units malfunctioning and temperatures in some stores reaching as high as 70C.

Belgian media reported that the incident forced retailers to dispose of food worth an estimated €100,000 (£87,000).

The disruption has also spread to Ireland, where SuperValu began withdrawing chilled products from 13 stores after hackers targeted a specific refrigerator model used by the retailer.

The Cork-based supermarket group said it was responding to a cybersecurity incident and had removed food from affected refrigeration units as a precaution while investigations continued.

A spokesman said: “As a precaution, chilled and frozen products in the affected stores have been removed from sale, and all other products remain available as normal. Customer safety is our first priority, and customers can be confident that products on sale in our stores have been stored at safe temperatures.”

The company added that it was working with equipment suppliers and cybersecurity specialists to restore normal operations.

“We are working closely with the suppliers of the affected refrigeration equipment and with cybersecurity specialists to resolve the issue and restore normal operations as quickly as possible,” the spokesman said.

Problems were also reported overnight at several outlets operated by Swedish supermarket chain ICA. The company confirmed that a “small number of ICA stores operating outside ICA’s central network” had been affected.

“ICA is currently supporting the affected stores in managing the situation,” a spokesperson said.

The incidents raise the prospect of a new front in cybercrime, in which hackers target the connected equipment underpinning everyday commercial operations rather than conventional corporate IT systems.

Refrigeration failures can quickly turn into a costly food-safety and supply-chain problem. Supermarkets must remove potentially compromised products, investigate temperature records and restore equipment before normal trading can resume. Even where disruption is limited to individual outlets, the financial consequences can extend beyond the immediate cost of spoiled stock.

The latest attacks also appear to form part of a wider pattern. On October 12, hundreds of supermarkets belonging to French chains Intermarché and Coopérative U suffered disruption after hackers targeted refrigeration systems.

That incident reportedly caused substantial food waste and fires as temperatures inside units climbed as high as 80C overnight. The resulting damage and losses were estimated at tens of millions of euros.

The repeated incidents underline the risks posed by increasingly connected refrigeration equipment. Systems designed to improve efficiency and allow remote monitoring can also create new points of vulnerability if attackers gain access to their controls.

For supermarket operators, the immediate priority is protecting customers and preventing further losses. But the cross-border nature of the disruptions is likely to intensify scrutiny of the cybersecurity safeguards surrounding equipment that keeps food safe and supermarket shelves stocked.