Overview
- Heiko Wodarz, the store manager in Solingen, says incidents of shoppers dumping fresh meat rose from five to six a month to roughly 16 to 20 in recent weeks.
- The supermarket estimates about €3,600 in annual losses from discarded unrefrigerated meat, reflecting roughly €300 per month.
- Visible notices at the fresh-meat counter, surveillance cameras, and direct staff interventions were introduced to deter the behavior.
- House bans have been threatened for customers caught abandoning products, but none have been issued so far.
- Wodarz attributes the behavior to financial strain and higher meat prices, while social media posts highlight food-safety risks and waste from broken cold chains.