Overview
- Multiple supermarkets in Sweden and Belgium reported sharp rises in fridge and freezer temperatures on Monday, November 2, forcing staff to discard spoiled or at‑risk food.
- ICA said a limited number of its stores were affected and is assessing the scope, while Coop reported refrigeration problems at six of its roughly 800 Swedish shops.
- One Sjöbo store posted on Facebook that its units had been "hacked" and set to 50°C but that claim has not been verified by retailers or investigators.
- The incidents follow a October 12 episode in France that was widely linked to hackers targeting Danfoss refrigeration controls, and Danfoss declined to comment when contacted about the new cases.
- Investigations are ongoing and officials will be watching whether the failures reflect isolated hardware faults, configuration errors, or a wider vulnerability in supermarket refrigeration control systems with direct food‑safety and supply‑loss consequences.