Shoppers 'baffled' after Moseley Co-op puts GPS tracker on £5 steaks as anti-theft tactic

Shoppers have been left "baffled" after Co-op store in Moseley started selling roasting joints, steaks and prime cuts in a clear perspex boxes fitted with GPS tracker.

The new security measures are part of a small scale trial to protect the prime cuts of meat and deter theft.

Shoppers in the Moseley store have been left shocked at the bizarre sight.The security measures are only typically found on high-value items such as technology, perfumes and alcohol, but steaks costing only £5.25 are being protected by the kit.A message on the tracked boxes reads: "Caution. Security tracked, please checkout before leaving store."

The Alcester Road store was selling cuts such as sirloin steaks and rump steaks costing between £5 and £7 in the tracked boxes this week.

Co-op confirmed the meat is classed as high value, so have been fitted with the gadgets to deter thefts but said it was not a UK-wide policy.It said store managers had the discretion to select products which "might be prone to theft".

The supermarket chain confirmed the measures had been in force in certain areas for some time and were not solely related to the cost-of-living crisis.A spokesperson of the popular chain said: "Co-op has been involved in a small scale trial of new packaging for higher value products such as meat for several years, with the additional security providing a further deterrent if a store locally experiences shoplifting issues.""The move formed part of our Safer Colleagues campaign which has also succeeded in bringing in stricter sentences for violent incidents against shopworkers."