United Natural Foods, Inc. is dealing with “temporary disruptions” to its operations stemming from “unauthorized activity” involving its information technology systems, the grocery retailer and wholesaler disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday.
UNFI said in the filing that it took some of its systems offline as it investigates the breach, which it discovered Thursday, but did not provide details about which of its services or capabilities have been impacted. UNFI said in a statement released Monday morning that the disruption is continuing.
“As soon as we discovered the activity, an investigation was initiated with the help of leading forensics experts and we have notified law enforcement. We are assessing the unauthorized activity and working to restore our systems to safely bring them back online,” UNFI said in a statement.
UNFI said in the regulatory filing that it has implemented workarounds to continue providing services “where possible,” but did not provide additional information. The company said it is working with third-party cybersecurity experts as it looks into the cause of the incident and develops a solution.
UNFI distributes groceries and nonfood products to customers at about 30,000 locations, according to its latest annual report. The company has a primary distribution arrangement with Whole Foods Market under an agreement that extends through May 2032. UNFI also runs supermarkets under banners including Cub Foods and Shoppers.
The breach follows an online attack last fall that targeted systems run in the U.S. by Dutch grocery company Ahold Delhaize. That breach forced Ahold Delhaize to take e-commerce services at its Hannaford banner down for several days in addition to disrupting online operations at other chains the company runs.
