Security labels spotted on £5 packs of chickens in a Tesco store

Tesco Express has started putting security labels on chickens in some stores as the cost of living crisis hits the shelves of Britain’s largest supermarkets.

Supermarkets across the UK have been putting safety stickers on everyday groceries for the last year and now the £6 worth of meat is the latest to offer extra safety.

Shoppers spotted the tags at the store in West Ruislip, west London, over the weekend.

Employees had attached security tags to a bagged fried chicken and a Tesco-brand piri-piri half chicken.

If someone tries to steal the meat, an alarm will go off.

Earlier this month, another Tesco Express on Tower Bridge Road began locking sausages and bacon behind a locked door “to protect stock and availability”.

Consumer journalist Harry Wallop also published a photo of a sign telling customers shopping at an Aldi store in central London that the steaks were “available on request”.

The sign read: “These items are only being requested to protect our colleagues and the community from anti-social behavior”.

Mr Wallop shared the image on Twitter with the caption: “In my local Aldi UK. You must now ask the seller to bring steaks from the storage room. stop shoplifting.

The Telegraph reported that shoplifting has increased dramatically in the last three months of 2022 as the cost of living crisis prompts thieves to target supermarkets.

Almost 275,000 shoplifting cases were recorded in 2021/22, reports the new Office for National Statistics.

Police Chief Inspector Andy Cooke said rising prices would lead to an increase in crime and become a greater threat to police.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, Visit our news page.