Co-op meat worth £3.75 packaged with security tags as cost of living bites

04 February 2023 , 20:15

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The meat was pictured in plastic security boxes (Image: Roxone Fisher-Redel)

Meat has been spotted packaged in security boxes at a popular supermarket chain.

A Co-op in Nottinghamshire has been placing items worth as little as £3.75 in sealed plastic containers that appear to be fitted with GPS trackers.

The security containers have been pictured at the Co-op in Woodborough Road, Mapperley, NottinghamshireLive reports.

They are also fitted with tags that display a "caution" message, telling customers the items must be removed at the checkout.

The tightly secured meat ranges in price from £8.50 down to just £3.75, and Co-op said that the measures were part of a "small-scale trial of packaging for higher value products".

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Security packaging is usually used for high-value items (Roxone Fisher-Redel)

The high-security measures are usually only reserved for more high-value items, such as alcohol. But the retailer added that individual store managers were allowed to select products that might be prone to theft.

The additional security comes at a time when food prices continue to soar during the cost of living crisis.

Food inflation jumped to 13.8% in January, up from 13.3% in December — the highest inflation rate in the food category on record, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Another Co-op in Nottinghamshire began placing meat in security cases back in July, but the grocery chain claimed at the time that it had nothing to do with the rising cost of living.

It told NottinghamshireLive: “Co-op has been involved in a small-scale trial of new packaging for higher value products such as meat for several years, with the additional security providing a further deterrent if a store locally experiences shoplifting issues.

"The move formed part of our Safer Colleagues campaign which has also succeeded in bringing in stricter sentences for violent incidents against shopworkers.”

Joel Moore