High street giant forced to lock cheap food item in plastic boxes as cases of shoplifting soar
TESCO is beefing up security — by locking up tins of Spam.
The supermarket chain put the throwback treat in anti-theft boxes at one London shop earlier this week.
![a can of spam sits on a store shelf](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/d9e33d0d-b5a3-44ae-87d7-e025996f87db.jpg?strip=all&w=803)
![the front of a tesco store with cars parked in front of it](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/large-tesco-supermarket-shopping-mall-918651946.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The tagged cases can be disarmed only by staff when buyers reach the checkout.
It came as the meaty wartime favourite’s average price hit £3.36.
Shoppers took to social media to complain, with one user fuming: “I realise products have risen in cost but Spam is far too high.”
Spam, a combination of ground pork and ham, was shipped abroad to feed troops in World War Two and was long considered a cheap source of protein.
But its price has risen by 6.7 per cent in a year — forcing Tesco to protect it from shoplifters in its Greenwich branch.
Graham Wynn, of the British Retail Consortium, said of Tesco’s move: “Stealing is not a victimless crime.
The £1.8billion a year lost to shop theft would be better spent investing in lower prices and better service for customers.
“Meanwhile, retailers are forced to spend a further £1.2billion a year on anti-crime measures such as CCTV, security personnel, and anti-theft devices.”
A Tesco spokesman said security protection on products was introduced wherever necessary and that it would not be a universal policy across its branches.