Empty shelves remain visible at Albert Heijn
Vegetables and fruit are still missing from several stores, following the cyber incident at Ahold Delhaize's retail chains.
There is news on this story (Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 15:44): Albert Heijn compensates affected online customers
Follow-up to: Albert Heijn to gradually resume deliveries on Friday Monday, 19 October 2026, 16:44
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Several Albert Heijn stores again reported empty shelves on Tuesday, particularly in the vegetable and fruit sections. The problems follow the cyber incident that disrupted supplies and online orders at Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall.
ANP reporters saw shortages in several stores on Tuesday, Metro reports. Sections selling fresh produce were not fully stocked everywhere. The observations concern several stores and do not provide a complete picture of stock levels in all branches.
Albert Heijn previously reported that the company had been dealing with a cyber incident since Sunday 11 October. According to the supermarket chain, systems were restricted or shut down as a precaution, meaning that online orders, among other things, had to be cancelled. The chain announced that it intended to gradually resume deliveries on Friday.
The new reports do not mean that all stores are once again without stock. The products available may vary by location and time. In its own update, Albert Heijn says that customers again have a wide choice, but that groceries ordered online could not be delivered up to and including Tuesday.
Ahold Delhaize has reported the incident to the police and is investigating its cause and scale. The company has not disclosed who may have been behind the attack. It has also not yet made public which systems were affected exactly or whether customer data was stolen.
The disruption raises questions about supermarkets' dependence on digital orders, distribution centres and stock-planning systems. A failure in one component can therefore affect both store stock and deliveries. This is particularly visible with fresh produce, which needs to be replenished quickly.
For consumers, the safety message remains largely unchanged for now: Albert Heijn says the incident is being investigated and that the stores continue to be supplied. The chain expects to resume limited deliveries on Friday, meaning it is not yet certain when recovery will be complete. Tuesday's reports indicate that physical supplies are still not operating normally everywhere.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Albert Heijn reports a cybersecurity incident affecting the group.
- Supplies and online orders have been disrupted.
- Empty shelves were visible in several stores on Tuesday.
- The perpetrator and the full scale of the incident have not been disclosed.
Left
Arguments The disruption shows that vital parts of the food supply cannot be left entirely to private digital systems and profit incentives. Companies must fund stronger security and better emergency provisions, with the costs not falling exclusively on workers or consumers.
Values Public resilience, consumer protection and collective responsibility.
Consequences More oversight and investment may increase prices, but should limit prolonged disruptions and social harm.
Centre
Arguments The first priority is recovery and transparency. Companies must report incidents, inform customers and learn from vulnerabilities together with the government and the sector, without immediately imposing general regulation.
Values Proportionality, continuity and institutional cooperation.
Consequences Targeted security standards and sector-wide exercises can improve resilience without making all business processes bureaucratic.
Right
Arguments Responsibility lies first and foremost with Ahold Delhaize to secure its systems and serve its customers. The government should mainly track down perpetrators and prevent new rules from disrupting competition and efficiency in the supermarket sector.
Values Individual responsibility, enterprise and limited government intervention.
Consequences Market participants may invest in security more quickly, but differences between companies may also lead to unequal protection.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's core claims are confirmed by Albert Heijn and independent ANP reporting via Metro. Unconfirmed details about perpetrators, systems and customer data are explicitly presented as unknown.
- confirmed Empty shelves were visible in several Albert Heijn stores on Tuesday, particularly in the vegetable and fruit sections. — ANP reporters observed this, according to Metro. source
- confirmed Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall have been dealing with a cybersecurity incident since 11 October. — This is stated in Albert Heijn's announcement. source
- confirmed Albert Heijn wants to gradually resume deliveries on Friday. — This was previously mentioned in the supplied reporting and fits the chain's recovery planning. source
Editor's note
It is certain that empty shelves were observed in several stores on Tuesday and that the cyber incident disrupted supplies. The cause, perpetrators and possible data theft have not been made public.Sources
The story so far
- Monday, 19 October 2026, 16:44 Albert Heijn to gradually resume deliveries on Friday
- Monday, 19 October 2026, 17:43 Ahold Delhaize reportedly filed police report after cyber incident
- Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 07:10 Damage from Albert Heijn cyber incident remains unclear
- Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 07:40 Albert Heijn expects deliveries to resume on Friday
- Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 13:12 Ahold Delhaize reports cyberattack to police
- Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 14:45 Empty shelves remain visible at Albert Heijn (this article)
- Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 15:44 Albert Heijn compensates affected online customers
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „albert heijn”
- Het Parool — „albert heijn”
- de Volkskrant — „albert heijn”