Grocery stores are coming up with innovative ways to stop shoplifters, and some fear the rising price of food could lead to an increase in the amount of theft.
The Food Retailers Association of Quebec estimates that $600 million worth of food is stolen from stores in Quebec each year,
Meanwhile the price of food went up by 4.1 percent in 2015, and is estimated to rise by an equal amount in 2016.
In dollar figures, that's about $300 more per year for a family of four.
Bruno Menard, vice-president of IGA Louise-Menard in St. Lambert, said some the price of some items is expected to rise sharply.
"Recently we've seen 20 percent [increases] especially in meat and they're predicting it's going to go up even more. And that's not just for meat but also for other products like fruits and vegetables and all of that," he said.
With the increase in prices comes a change in thefts from stores, with some people targetting meat.
Stores have been fighing back by attaching sensors to packaging, and in some cases putting sensors inside the packages of meat prepared by grocery store butchers.
No solution is perfect, however, and Menard said thieves have been spotted ripping meat out of packages and slipping it inside plastic bags in an attempt to avoid detection
