Irish shops rule out security tags on their meat
Wednesday November 25 2009
IRISH-owned supermarkets yesterday ruled out putting security tags on meat after British-based chains introduced the measure here in a bid to clamp down on shoplifting.
Superquinn and SuperValu said they had "no plans" to follow moves by Tesco and Marks and Spencer to bring in tags, which are commonly used by clothing retailers to prevent theft.
Tesco and M&S are using the tags in a small number of their stores so far but they are refusing to rule out expanding it nationwide.
The move has come in for criticism, but Tesco insist that they are implementing it purely on a trial basis.
A spokeswoman for M&S said the company would "absolutely" be looking to put the tagging system in all of their 20 stores.
Expensive meat products are the main target of the measures, but cheaper items such as sausages, burgers and rashers are also included, and M&S are attaching them to fish too.
The store has so far implemented the measures in its three Dublin stores and Tesco have put them into five outlets.
Tesco communications manager, Seamus Banim said: "We will evaluate it at the end of the trial. The point is that we do have tagging on other products in other stores like bottles of wine."
Management hope the move will cut down on shoplifting, which has been on the rise since the onset of the recession.
Dickensian
But Dublin Central TD Joe Costello described the measure as "Dickensian" and said it was a "discriminatory" move against his constituents.
"It really is making guinea pigs of the local people," Mr Costello said.
"I have never been impressed by the range of Tesco products in the north-inner city. It is limited and, very often, the shelf life is very short."
Spokeswomen for Superquinn and SuperValu said they had "absolutely no plans" to bring in tagging. Dunnes Stores have not yet commented on what they plan to do.
Smaller stores, such as Spar and Centra, are not expected to introduce the tags on food either, despite estimates that they stand to lose around €40m to theft over the Christmas period. Chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises, Mark Fielding, said: "As the security tagging becomes less expensive, you'll find that more and more shops will do it . . .
"But at the moment the cost of implementation outweighs the benefit."
- Stephen O'Farrell
Irish Independent
