Empty refrigerators are seen at a Delhaize supermarket in Boortmeerbeek, about 30km from Brussels, following an IT incident. (AFP pic)BRUSSELS: Dozens of Belgian grocery stores and an Ikea superstore saw their refrigerator temperatures soar on Monday, with several of the firms involved confirming they had been hit by a cyberattack.

It is the latest in a series of cyberattacks on store refrigerators and suspicious actions around the supermarkets across Europe.

A handful of Swedish supermarkets saw temperatures in their refrigerators and freezers soar early Monday, Swedish chains Ica and Coop said without giving a cause.

Major French retailers said on Oct 12 that hundreds of store refrigeration systems were hit by a cyberattack, which forced them to throw out spoiled food and raised food security fears.