Four out of five food thieves choose cheese over meat, or something like that. Photo: iStockphoto

You might think that the most frequently stolen food or drink item in the world is alcohol, right? Pirates killed for it, and the Australian government even used to use rum as currency. But you’d be wrong! The most commonly swiped and pillaged food on the planet is … cheese? Yes, cheese.

In their “Global Retail Theft Barometer 2011,” the Centre for Retail Research has concluded that candy, booze, and “luxury cooked meat” all take lower priorities for thieves across the globe, while cheese remains king. Also of note, India is home to the most food thievery, with Russia placing a distant second.

Anyhow, we’ve been hearing for a while now that cheese is like “Liquid Gold.” And now we have scientific proof. But that Cheeses of France ad campaign still weirds us out.



Cheese: The Most Stolen Food on the Planet [Gothamist]