In brief
A cyber incident on Nov. 2, 2026, disrupted refrigeration systems at supermarkets in Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg, causing stores to remove perishable products. Both Xinhua and United Press International detail the scope of the attacks, citing specific chains and temperatures, while noting a similar French incident three weeks earlier.
A cyber incident disrupted refrigeration systems in supermarkets across Europe on Monday, forcing stores to withdraw perishable products as a precaution. According to Xinhua, the disruption affected 13 Irish supermarkets run by SuperValu’s parent Musgrave Group, while Sweden’s Axfood, ICA, and Coop also reported problems, and Belgium and Luxembourg’s Delhaize and Colruyt noted attacks on their cooling units.
Xinhua described how SuperValu’s monitoring systems alerted staff to the outage and that the incident was limited to a specific refrigerator model. A Musgrave spokesperson said, "Our monitoring systems alerted us to the issue and we took immediate action," and added that other products remained available as normal. The company is working with suppliers and cybersecurity specialists to investigate and restore normal operations.
The outlet reported that Sweden’s Axfood experienced a hack at a distribution centre handling home deliveries, while Coop said six of its stores were affected and ICA confirmed disruptions at a limited number of locations. One ICA branch reported its refrigeration and freezer temperatures had been set to 50 °C following a suspected cyberattack.
United Press International’s coverage, published the same day, emphasizes the scale of spoilage, noting that France’s Carrefour chain had a similar incident three weeks prior in which temperatures rose sharply, leading to food losses and, in some cases, fires. UPI reports that 90 % of Ahold Delhaize’s Belgian and Luxembourgian stores were hit, with “IT incidents” raising cooling temperatures and resulting in significant losses. UPI quoted the manager of a Delhaize store in Hoeilaart saying "$112,200 worth of food had been destroyed," and UPI also listed the loss of shop revenue due to the closure of affected stores.
UPI also cited Germanic countries’ involvement, reporting that Finland’s K‑stores experienced technical glitches, Estonia’s Selver supermarket was affected, and that the Netherlands’ Ahold Delhaize had 40 stores impacted. In Belgium, UPI mentioned that Sabcobel, a major commercial refrigeration provider, said hackers had remotely set the units to “defrost,” allowing them to warm to a preset temperature—a technique also used in the French attack. Chief executive Stephan Moelans stated, "We started mobilising technicians at 1 a.m. We spent all night and morning disconnecting the affected installations from the grid."
While Xinhua reported the incident as isolated to a model of equipment and confined to a handful of stores, UPI provided a broader picture of cross‑border impacts and estimated losses. Both outlets noted that authorities had not yet determined whether the latest attacks are connected or who is responsible. The series of incidents underscore growing concerns over the cybersecurity of food retail infrastructure across Europe.
