Several supermarkets are putting alarms on food products, from cod to frozen salmon, and from tuna cans to bottles of olive oil, according to a report by Expresso, which quotes the director-general of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED) assuring that the measure is due to the increase in thefts: "It is a phenomenon that is on the rise, especially since the beginning of September and particularly in the large urban centers of Lisbon and Porto", says Gonçalo Lobo Xavier.

The official reveals that milk and canned food are the most stolen products, adding that "there is no doubt that they are thefts to eat. This is the first symptom of a serious social crisis".

Expresso also spoke with Cláudio Ferreira, president of the National Association of Surveillance and Private Security, who is responsible for monitoring supermarkets, and this official also guarantees that there has been a significant increase in the number of thefts "in the last two to three months". Cláudio Ferreira says that people are desperate "and hide packets of milk or tuna cans in their bags or coats to eat or to give to their children."

According to the PSP, which has data up to the month of June, in the first six months of this year alone, 452 thefts were reported to the police in super and hypermarkets, an average of 2.5 per day. To Expresso, a police source says that if this pace were maintained, the number of incidents would be 40% higher than last year, but it should be even higher because the number of cases has accelerated with rising inflation. And there are many situations that are not even reported to the police.

Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, from APED, says that it is urgent to increase state support to families and guarantees that supermarket chains, which have seen profits increase in recent months, are “thinking of mechanisms to help the most needy people”.