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A pistachio heist in Ontario hasn't just raised the eyebrows of people thinking, “Surely, no one could eat that many nuts,” but put businesses on high alert about food cargo thefts.
Driving the news: Some nutty thieves pulled off an Ocean’s Eleven-level heist on a cargo truck just outside of Waterloo, Ontario, earlier this year, making off with ~$70,000 worth of California pistachios, per the Toronto Star — though no word on whether they got all the shells off.
Big picture: The incident is the latest in what police say is an alarming trend in Canada and the U.S. of organized crime groups stealing cargo trucks full of food, goods, and metals.
- Cargo thefts in Canada and the U.S. jumped 59% year over year in the third quarter of 2023, per CargoNet, with 692 thefts resulting in US$31 million of losses.
- Over the past five years, food and beverages have made up a third of all reported cargo thefts.
Why it’s happening: Experts say that because a lot of food doesn't have the same type of barcodes and serial numbers as other products, they’re easier to flip for cash, particularly to smaller grocers and stores that don’t have the same sourcing protocols as the big chains.
Why it matters: Supply chain records are pretty much just Excel sheets and can be easily faked, per the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, meaning stolen cargo can make it onto grocery shelves. This opens up shoppers to buying illicit food that can be dangerous to eat.
- Thieves likely aren’t following proper storage guidelines for perishables, meaning poisoning threats from stolen food are real, especially for contraband meat.
Zoom out: Things driving this surge in cargo thefts — like the relative ease of a crime with a quick getaway and the tougher economic condition — are the same things driving surges in auto thefts and organized shoplifting that Canada is also experiencing.—LA, QH