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Hundreds of supermarkets in France have been targeted in a major cyber attack that caused refrigeration systems to heat up, resulting in significant financial losses and food waste.

Coopérative U was among the major retail chains impacted by the hack, which reportedly saw some fridges heat up to temperature of 50°C overnight.

In a statement shared yesterday (12 October 2026) on X, the retail chain’s CEO, Dominique Schelcher, confirmed the attack, calling it “unprecedented” and “unacceptable”.

“Our teams are fully mobilised, in coordination with refrigeration specialists, to restore the situation as quickly as possible,” he said. “An investigation will be necessary to shed full light on this attack.”

“Targeting equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and to the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity”.

More than 100 of the supermarket’s stores were impacted by the attack, which saw hackers gain access to remote control software that regulates the temperature of refrigeration units.

The software was reportedly provided by Danish firm Danfoss. According to reporting by BBC News, the company said the impacted units were older models, running outdated firmware that could not be updated to prevent an identified security risk.

Other retail chains reportedly impacted by the attack include Intermarché, Carrefour and E.Leclerc. FoodBev has reached out to the retail chains for comment.

A spokesperson from Intermarché owner Les Mousquetaires reportedly told Reuters that fridges at around 150 of its stores were heated up to 50°C for six hours, resulting in all impacted food being discarded to avoid health risk.

Christophe Hansen, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, condemned the attack in a statement on X, writing: “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponisation of food has become a reality.”

The news highlights the growing cybersecurity threat associated with the rising use of automation and remote monitoring software across food supply chain infrastructure, with hackers increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence and other modern technologies to target operational technology.

Muhammad Yahya Patel, cybersecurity advisor for EMEA at cybersecurity tech firm Huntress, said: “Building management controls, HVAC, cold chain infrastructure – these are the same category of systems that the security industry has been warning about as the next frontier for sabotage attacks, and they’ve now been weaponised against food retail infrastructure in one of Europe’s largest economies. The immediate financial consequences are significant and visible.”

In the Netherlands, retailer Ahold Delhaize also reported a separate security issue within its network yesterday, though the incidents are not believed to be connected.

"Our teams are taking steps to assess and mitigate the issue. This includes taking some systems offline to help protect them. At this time, our stores are open and serving customers,” the retailer said in a statement.

“Protecting our infrastructure in the best interest of our customers, associates and partners is a top priority. We apologise for any inconvenience this issue may have caused customers and partners.”