Supermarket freezer cyber-attack: which shops were hit, and is the UK affected?

2nd November 2026

Updated 2 Nov 2026, 13:39 · First published 2 Nov 2026

Supermarket fridges and freezers in at least five European countries, including 13 SuperValu stores in Ireland, have been hit by a suspected cyber-attack. Food worth millions of euros has been thrown away. No UK supermarkets have been reported as affected so far.

🧊 The key facts
🌍 Countries hit: Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, Estonia
🌡️ Some freezers were set to 50°C overnight
🇬🇧 UK: no stores reported affected
🔍 No one has claimed responsibility

What happened to the supermarket freezers?

Overnight, refrigeration systems in dozens of shops stopped keeping food cold. In Sweden, one ICA store found its fridges and freezers had been hacked and set to 50°C. In Belgium, a single Delhaize branch in Hoeilaart lost around €100,000 of produce. In Ireland, SuperValu owner Musgrave said one specific model of refrigeration system was affected, and chilled and frozen food was thrown away as a precaution.

Which supermarkets were affected?

Country	Stores affected
Belgium and Luxembourg	About 40 Delhaize stores; 15 Carrefour stores in Belgium
Sweden	Several ICA stores; 7 of Coop’s 800 shops
Ireland	13 SuperValu stores
Estonia	Stores reported problems; chains not named
UK	No UK stores reported affected so far

Coop in Sweden said the “situation is currently contained and under control”. Carrefour kept its affected Belgian stores open. The national cyber-security agencies in Belgium and Sweden say they are monitoring the incident.

Is the UK affected?

There are no reports of UK shops being hit. The attack appears to target one type of connected refrigeration system rather than a supermarket chain, so retailers across Europe are likely to be checking their own equipment. If you bought chilled or frozen food that seems to have thawed, the Food Standards Agency’s advice is not to refreeze it and to throw away anything you are unsure about.

📬 The Energy BriefingTop news, sport and what's on in London, straight to your inbox. Free.

Has this happened before?

Yes. Last month, hundreds of supermarkets in France reported a similar attack that pushed fridge temperatures up. Nobody has said who is behind either incident.

Sources: BBC News, Newsweek, Sky News, The Guardian. Photo: Hryshchyshen Serhii / Shutterstock.

⭐See more Energy Radio stories in Google’s Top storiesAdd us as a preferred source on Google

Follow Energy Radio on Facebook and Instagram.