A French sheep-cheese farm’s estimated €25,000 loss from a break-in adds to reports of costly cheese thefts, but available reporting does not show a wider European pattern of organized crime.
TF1 reported Sept. 25, 2026, that two people forced their way into Bergerie du Tilh in Artigueloutan, in Pyrénées-Atlantiques near Pau, and took about 250 wheels of sheep’s-milk tomme from an aging room. Producer Régis Junqua estimated the loss at about €25,000. TF1 also reported that a camera was disabled.
TF1 said the thieves selected tommes that had aged longer and were darker. It reported each wheel sold for €80 to €130, depending on aging time. Junqua told TF1 the intruders seemed calm; he said the break-in was planned and called them professionals.
In a separate TF1 report, Alexandre Salles, co-president of the French cheesemakers’ federation, said each wheel carries a mark identifying its producer. He speculated that stolen cheese could have its rind removed, be cut into smaller portions and distributed through wider channels. TF1 did not report that this happened in Artigueloutan.
A separate theft at the Pieve Roffeno cooperative in Italy’s Bologna province was reported by Il Resto del Carlino on Nov. 1, 2025. The newspaper said an initial tally found 191 Parmigiano Reggiano wheels missing and the count was still rising; it put expected losses above €100,000. Its headline described more than 200 wheels, while its article said Carabinieri were investigating.
These cases show losses to the French farm and Italian cooperative, but no link between them. Historical rankings offer limited evidence of a current trend: the Centre for Retail Research’s 2019 page described cheese as the leading theft target in the UK and Europe roughly a decade earlier, based on older research. The page gave no current France-specific figures. France 24’s Nov. 3, 2026, press review relayed The Times’ claim that cheese is France’s most-stolen foodstuff, but did not identify current data behind the ranking.
