There's now a ten-thousand dollar reward to catch whoever is tampering with food at Calgary grocery stores.
Allen Langdon with the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors says "as an association we thought it was important to come forward and if this reward will help the police in obtaining the people responsible for this, that's in everyone's interests and in our interests in making sure our customers' safety is protected".
In addition, the Robbery Unit of the Major Crimes Division of the Calgary City Police will now handle the investigation.
The latest incident was reported on Monday by a shopper who had picked up a loaf of bread, Sunday and metal inside the loaf.
Police say the customer bought the loaf of bread from the Shawnessy Safeway on Shawville Boulevard southwest around noon on Sunday.
The customer returned the loaf to the Safeway the next day after making the disturbing discovery. Police were called in.
Investigators say a piece of metal was found inside, but for investigative reasons, wouldn't say what the object was. Police are now examining Safeway surveillance video.
A Safeway spokesperson told CTV News they are treating this very seriously. After a thorough inspection Safeway said only one loaf of bread was tampered with, but at least 100 bread items were tossed out as a precaution.
This incident comes on the heels of tampered food items originating from an Oakridge Co-op in January and three Sobeys' locations just week last.
Safeway says ahead of this tampering incident at one of their locations, it had already beefed up staff presence on its grocery store floors.
Police are reminding Calgarians to check their groceries carefully and to report any suspicious items or activity. Concerned customers can get a refund or exchange their Safeway purchases, but they'll need to provide a receipt.
