A picture of baby formula hidden behind the counter at a Sainsbury’s store paints a somber picture of families struggling with the cost of living and businesses concerned about theft.
Parents must ask the counter personnel for an Aptamil formula tub if they want to purchase one; tubs cost £14 and £15.50 and are sold alongside cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.
These safeguards are typically only taken with regard to expensive items like perfume and aftershave or those requiring age verification, like alcohol.
Sainsbury’s Local in Acton, west London, is where the recipe was discovered.
Despite the fact that it is well known that this policy has existed for some time, one customer claimed that the image “shows how horrible things must be for parents… but also how frightened the retailers are” as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
A picture of formula behind the counter was uploaded to Twitter in June, along with the caption, “This truly disturbs me.” Baby formula is kept behind the counter to prevent theft at the local Sainsbury’s.
“Formula is costly. It is rejected by many food banks in order to “reduce dependency/encourage breastfeeding.” The outcome is disastrous for numerous families.
A representative for Sainsbury’s said: “We have a number of protection procedures in place for high value commodities. This is only one of them.” The items placed behind the till will differ from store to store.’
The images were taken only a few months after security tags were discovered on Aptamil and Cow&Gate infant formula in other Sainsbury’s stores.
The cost of living problem has raised concerns that desperate parents are resorting to crime to provide for their children.
Due to escalating energy costs, families are spending even less in stores while the cost of necessities is rising due to soaring inflation.
According to data from The Grocer, the cost of infant milk increased by as much as £1 in 2021.
The increase, according to suppliers, was brought on by a squeeze on raw material prices as well as storage and transportation costs.
The image was released in response to a July poll that revealed Britons admitting to stealing about £500 million worth of items this year, including food, toiletries, and baby formula.
The cost of living, according to 63% of those who admitted to shoplifting, was the reason for one-third of their actions.
According to the retailer, the security tags are not new, and they have been placed on Aptamil and Cow&Gate infant formula in other Sainsbury’s locations in July of this year to deter theft.
When an item is taken out of a store, a security tag’s transmitter sounds an alert. Staff members also remove security tags when consumers pay at the register.
High-value commodities like alcohol, aftershave, and perfume are typically protected by tags to prevent theft.
But occasionally, the security tags can also be employed to deter shoplifters from stealing often snatched goods like cheese, pork, and coffee.
One group of retailers using these tactics for baby formula included stores in Staplehurst and Maidstone.
When KentOnline reporters visited the Romney Place supermarket in Maidstone in July, the price of Aptamil’s Organic 1 First Infant Milk from Birth 800g increased from £12 to £13.50 in March.
A single father who was in Sainsbury’s for grocery shopping told the Mirror, “I was astonished to find security tags on our baby formula.”
Those kinds of things, in my opinion, should only be used for expensive purchases.
When things like this are routinely stolen, it just serves to highlight how severely the expense of living issue is biting.
Whether to securely tag products, according to a Sainsbury’s representative, was a decision made by each individual store.
There are other stores as well as Sainsbury’s that have rigorous policies in place to stop infant formula theft.
A photograph from September actually depicts a tub of Cow&Gate follow-milk at a Tesco in Surrey with a security tag on it.
Additionally, there were tags on Strepsils, shaving cream, and Bold 2 in 1 washing gel.
The Manchester Evening News reported similar events in July and mentioned three establishments in the neighborhood where all types of formula had alarm tags wrapped around them.
The large Tesco Extra store at the Portwood roundabout in Stockport, as well as the Tesco Express locations on Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens, were included in this.
It’s a major mystery, in their words, according to one unidentified customer. Baby milk isn’t exactly one of the things you’d expect to see tags or other measures on, despite the fact that there are plenty of other items. When you think about it, it’s rather tragic.’
At one Tesco location in May, cardboard cutouts were used to replace the whiskey bottles that had been routinely stolen from the shelves.
Jack Daniels and other products were swapped with small cards in plastic boxes by staff at the branch of the supermarket giant.
Customers are now required to bring one of these with a photo of the whiskey they desire to purchase to the register.
The price per bottle of JD’s several varieties ranges from £14 to £45.
According to reports, a store employee is now stationed in the alcohol aisle to keep an eye out for shoplifters.
It is acknowledged that Tesco offers security protection on a few more expensive items, but this is not a new practice.