21 Jul 2022 --- UK supermarket shoppers have been shocked to discover security tagging on cheese, butter and other packaged foods as inflation takes product prices to record highs. While major retailers have denied that the additional packaging security represents a knee-jerk reaction to recently-elevated pricing, instead pointing to longer-term theft-prevention tactics, consumers have taken to social media to portray hard-lock tags on supermarket-brand cheddar and other everyday foods as symbolic of the cost of living crisis.In June, the rate of UK inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.4%, while food prices rose 9.8% compared to June 2020, reportedly the highest growth in this category since 2009. Food costs also increased by 1.2% against the prior month.
