Security-tagged bacon spotted at Countdown as the cost of living bites and retail crime soars

Amid rising food prices and an increase in retail crime, essential items such as meat are being given extra security in some supermarkets.

Security tags were seen on individual bacon packs at a Countdown store during the weekend.

The security tags on meat products at Countdown come as other supermarkets and independent butchers adopt similar actions.

A Countdown spokesperson said they have a range of security measures in place to help prevent theft, including placing security tags on select products which can occasionally include meat.

They said the use of security tags was common practice within the retail sector and the supermarket chain had been using them for some items for more than a decade.

Rival Foodstuff’s chief executive Chris Quin said they have “never seen retail crime at these levels”.

“It’s an extremely concerning trend and it’s unacceptable,” Quin said.

Retail crime rates have increased by 37.8 per cent for the same period - this equates to a total of 3285 incidents of retail crime or around 37 incidents a day, Foodstuffs said when releasing its data last month. Shoplifting has increased by 57 per cent.

Foodstuffs, which owns Four Square, New World and Pak’nSave, also released disturbing footage of offenders, including one wielding an iron bar, attacking workers.

Serious incidents such as burglary, assault, robbery, and other aggressive, violent, and threatening behaviour have gone up by 36 per cent year on year between February and April.

“Retail crime is coming through the front doors of grocery stores and impacting our teams every day,” Quin said.

“Grocers are focused on keeping their people safe and that means investing in de-escalation and conflict management training and helping people to cope in a situation which involves aggression.

“Every New Zealander has the right to work in a safe and secure environment and not be threatened, assaulted, spat on, yelled at, or racially abused as they go about their working day.”

The security and loss prevention staff of Foodstuffs North Island have discovered instances of co-ordinated criminality involving individuals or groups that steal in order to resell it.

Tens of thousands of dollars worth of non-perishable products were taken over the course of several months and smuggled abroad in one case, which is currently before the courts.

Another incidence had a habitual criminal who took 31 whole eye, scotch, and sirloin fillets for roughly $3200 over a period of weeks.

The number of reported repeat offenders has increased by 34 per cent from last year and repeat offenders are responsible for 36 per cent of all reported retail crime incidents.

“There’s no postcode for the current wave of crime. It’s in the cities, the regions, and in our small communities too. It’s right across the North Island,” said Quin.

“To really address this complex issue, we need strong collaboration between Government, police, community leaders and business owners. Our grocers and our co-operative is committed to working together with communities to tackle retail crime.”

Annual figures earlier released showed retail crime had increased by 39 per cent in 2022 when compared to 2021.

Overall retail crime costs New Zealand retailers $1 billion each year, police estimate.

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.