Slipping up on bargain bananas

Last month, a Melbourne man was the victim of one of the strangest burglaries. The thief did not make away with the expensive items in the house. Instead, he just ate all the chocolate. The victim was quoted saying, “He ate all my Cadbury Favourites.” The thief also enjoyed several cans of drink, cut his toenails and would have probably fixed himself dinner if the home owner didn’t come home when he did.

Christmas is a time for giving and taking if this incident is anything to go by. A young nurse in the US said Christmas was a “cursed” time in her family after a series of unfortunate events happened around the holiday season. The final addition to the list was when thieves broke into her home and not only stole her children’s presents, but also the turkey, gammon and vegetables meant for Christmas lunch.

Cheese is globally the top thieving food ingredient. And one of the most sought-after is Parmiggiano Reggiano. In Italy, 330 makers have been the victim of cheese heists. There is a big black market for these delicious cheese wheels and, according to reports, in the past two years, the stolen wheels have amounted to nearly $7 million in worth.

“Anyone offered large quantities [of chocolate] via unconventional channels should report it to the police immediately.” That was the public service announcement that was issued in April 2018 in Germany when thieves made off with a truckload of Nutella and Kinder chocolate eggs. The stolen treats were worth more than $80,000. The police were clueless about the motive of the robbers and suggested they were after the truck the chocolate spread was stored in.

Large-scale food thefts are not unheard of in this particular part of Germany, as five tonnes of coffee and a truckload of Red Bull energy drinks were also on the hit list.

Ramen noodles may be a cheap college staple but there was nothing cheap about this robbery. In Fayette County, Georgia, robbers stole packaged ramen noodles from a trailer park off the highway. There were nearly 3,00,000 packets of the noodle which amounted to nearly $100,000.

After a two-year avocado shortage in New Zealand, which has caused prices for the green fruit to surge, many people are taking to a life of crime by stealing avocados from orchards in the middle of the night and selling them on the black market.

Given the popularity of this green fruit, farmers are going out of their way to protect their trees by adding razor-wire fences around the trees.