Several meat suppliers have reportedly faced refrigeration failures linked to a suspected cyberattack. In one case, the refrigeration cycle had allegedly been altered so that the defrost function activated every hour.
Supermarkets in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands and Estonia have also reported similar disruption involving store refrigerators and freezers. Reports indicate that some units were set to temperatures of approximately 50C.
Swedish retailer ICA Kvantum Sjöbo described the incident in a Facebook post: “Our refrigerators and freezers have been hacked overnight and they have set the temperature to 50 degrees.”
In a later update, the supermarket said it had discarded affected products because it could not confirm whether they remained safe: “We simply do not know how our refrigerators and freezers have behaved overnight and early in the morning” The business said it was now concentrating on “getting everything back on track”.
Andy Richardson, a partner at UK supply chain consultancy European Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP), said the incident highlighted wider risks facing the food and beverage industry trends landscape: “This latest incident clearly demonstrates that cyber-attacks are becoming more and more likely and their impact on businesses are becoming more profound.
“They reinforce the importance of investing now to ensure business have robust, tested and effective cyber strategies and back up plans in place”
The event underlines the importance of resilience across food manufacturing trends, food processing technology and food distribution trends. It also demonstrates how digital systems supporting refrigeration, food and drink packaging operations and wider food and drink industry innovation can create new points of vulnerability.
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) said it had approached the National Cyber Security Centre, which confirmed it was “currently monitoring the issue”.
“At present we do not know whether any meat has been destroyed as a result of the hack but urge all businesses in the food supply chain to check their fridges and to increase their vigilance,” said Tony Goodger, head of communications at AIMS.
For food businesses, the incident also reinforces the need to align cyber preparedness with food and drink sustainability, food and drink regulations, food and drink marketing and evolving food and drink consumer trends. Robust contingency plans and regular equipment checks remain essential to protect product safety and maintain supply chain continuity.
