Editing Tesco (section)

==Criticism==
{{Main|Criticism of Tesco}}

Criticism of Tesco includes allegations of stifling competition due to its undeveloped "land bank",<ref>{{Cite news |title=UK grocers face competition probe |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6287923.stm |publisher=BBC |date=22 January 2007 |access-date=21 February 2007 |archive-date=29 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329014814/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6287923.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> and breaching planning laws.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tesco 'breaching planning laws' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5261844.stm |work=BBC News |date=18 August 2006 |access-date=21 February 2007 |archive-date=19 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061019025441/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5261844.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Litigation===
The Tesco [[supermarket]] chain is involved in [[litigation]] such as the ''[[Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd]]'' and ''[[Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass]]'' cases. Tesco has been criticised for aggressively pursuing critics of the company in Thailand. Writer and former MP Jit Siratranont faced up to two years in jail and a £16.4&nbsp;million libel damages claim for saying that Tesco was expanding aggressively at the expense of small local retailers. Tesco served him with writs for criminal defamation and civil libel. The Thai court dismissed the case, ruling that the criticism made by the defendant was 'in good faith by way of fair comment on any person or thing subjected to public criticism'.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jun/18/tesco-libel-case-thailand |title=Thai court dismisses Tesco libel case against former MP |location=London |date=18 June 2009 |work=The Guardian |first=Mark |last=Sweney |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-date=15 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015021822/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jun/18/tesco-libel-case-thailand |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2007, Tesco sued a Thai academic and a former minister for civil [[libel]] and criminal defamation, insisting that the two pay £1.6&nbsp;million and £16.4&nbsp;million and receive two years' imprisonment respectively. They have been alleged to have misstated that Tesco's Thai market amounts to 37% of its global revenues, amongst criticism of Tesco's propensity to put small retailers out of business.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Ian |last1=MacKinnon |first2=David |last2=Leigh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/apr/08/tesco.supermarkets |title=Tesco sues critic of its expansion in Thailand for £16.4m damages |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=8 April 2008 |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927182938/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/apr/08/tesco.supermarkets |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 2013, Tesco was fined £300,000 after admitting that it misled customers over the pricing of "half-price" strawberries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-23755528 |title=Tesco fined over 'half-price' strawberries claim |work=BBC News |access-date=21 March 2015 |archive-date=27 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327022941/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-23755528 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Tesco egg supplier in Thailand - investigation shows hens in battery cages, unable to spread their wings.png|thumb|Tesco egg supplier in Thailand - investigation shows hens in battery cages, unable to spread their wings.]]

===Animal welfare===
Tesco has received criticism for supplying meat from intensive animal farms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 December 2022 |title=Piglets at RSPCA-backed farms 'kicked, thrown and electrocuted' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rspca-farm-pigs-animal-cruelty-b2242436.html |access-date=13 December 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212130122/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rspca-farm-pigs-animal-cruelty-b2242436.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=25 June 2019 |title=Chickens 'left to rot' at major supplier Moy Park's farms |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-48745253 |access-date=13 December 2022 |archive-date=13 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213163839/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-48745253 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2019, footage shot at a self-described "ethical" farm that supplied Tesco showed birds being kicked and hurled into crates.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 July 2019 |title=Tesco suspends chicken sales from 'ethical' farm where injured birds 'were kicked and hurled into crates' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chicken-tesco-animal-abuse-video-investigation-rspca-red-tractor-a8982861.html |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214184343/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chicken-tesco-animal-abuse-video-investigation-rspca-red-tractor-a8982861.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2020, an investigation into a chicken farm that supplied Tesco found fast-growing birds that were in chronic pain and others that could barely stand up.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 October 2020 |title=Animal charity raises concerns over 'frankenchickens' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-54452970 |access-date=14 December 2022 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214180805/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-54452970 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2021, undercover footage captured showed piglets deemed too small or too weak for the abattoir being hammered to death by farm workers or being swung against a concrete floor to be killed at a Tesco supplier.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 May 2021 |title=Pigs hammered to death at 'high-welfare' farm |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pigs-farm-animal-cruelty-scotland-b1840471.html |access-date=13 December 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212133835/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pigs-farm-animal-cruelty-scotland-b1840471.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The practice, known as piglet thumping, is common on UK farms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NPA responds to consumer concerns over method of dispatching sick piglets |url=http://www.npa-uk.org.uk/NPA_responds_to_consumer_concerns_over_method_of_dispatching_sick_piglets.html |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=npa-uk.org.uk |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214184349/http://www.npa-uk.org.uk/NPA_responds_to_consumer_concerns_over_method_of_dispatching_sick_piglets.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2021, The Independent revealed chickens were being left to die of thirst in overcrowded sheds by a Tesco supplier. Some birds resorted to [[cannibalism]], and many suffered ammonia burns.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 July 2021 |title=Chickens died of thirst and dead birds left to rot at suppliers to Tesco, Sainsbury, Lidl and KFC |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chicken-tesco-sainsbury-sainsbury-kfc-lidl-aldi-welfare-b1893070.html |access-date=13 December 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=13 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213194219/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chicken-tesco-sainsbury-sainsbury-kfc-lidl-aldi-welfare-b1893070.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Use of caged eggs ===
In May 2019 an undercover investigation of an Asian Tesco egg supplier, released by the [[Daily Mirror]], found Tesco is serving Asian customers eggs from [[battery cage]] farms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/animal-welfare-campaigners-attack-tesco-15025000|title=Hens 'will never be able to spread their wings or engage in natural behaviour'|last=Penman|first=Andrew|date=10 May 2019|website=mirror|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=24 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724202029/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/animal-welfare-campaigners-attack-tesco-15025000|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2019, an investigation of the company producing Tesco's own-brand eggs in Malaysia, broken by the [[New Straits Times]], documented similar conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/08/511396/tesco-rapped-selling-eggs-caged-hens|work=New Straits Times|title=Tesco rapped for selling eggs from caged hens|date=9 August 2019|access-date=16 August 2019|archive-date=16 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816133804/https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/08/511396/tesco-rapped-selling-eggs-caged-hens|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2019/08/07/shocking-discovery-into-tescos-egg-supply-chain/|title=Shocking Discovery Into Tesco's Egg Supply Chain - Business Today|date=7 August 2019|publisher=Business Today|language=en-US|access-date=16 August 2019|archive-date=16 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816133802/https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2019/08/07/shocking-discovery-into-tescos-egg-supply-chain/|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the investigation, Tesco committed to using only cage-free eggs in Thailand and Malaysia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/downloads/animal-welfare-policy-group/|title=Maintaining and improving animal welfare|website=Tesco PLC|language=en|access-date=29 August 2019|archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829124646/https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/downloads/animal-welfare-policy-group/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Price-fixing===
In 2007, Tesco was placed under investigation by the UK [[Office of Fair Trading]] (OFT) for acting as part of a [[cartel]] of five supermarkets (Safeway, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsburys) and a number of dairy companies to fix the price of milk, butter, and cheese. In December 2007, Asda, Sainsbury's, and the former Safeway admitted that they acted covertly against the interests of consumers while publicly claiming that they were supporting 5,000 farmers recovering from the [[foot-and-mouth]] crisis. They were fined a total of £116&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/aug/10/tesco-attacks-oft-price-fixing-fine|title=Tesco threatens legal action over OFT dairy price-fixing fine|date=10 August 2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 March 2012|location=London|archive-date=23 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923155033/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/aug/10/tesco-attacks-oft-price-fixing-fine|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Corporate tax structure===
In May 2007, it was reported that Tesco had moved the head office of its online operations to Switzerland. This allows it to sell CDs, DVDs, and electronic games through its website without charging [[value-added tax]] (VAT). The operation had previously been run from [[Jersey]] but had been closed by authorities who feared damage to the island's reputation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Leigh|first=David|date=30 May 2008|title=Tesco: new claims of tax avoidance|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/may/31/tesco.supermarkets|access-date=29 June 2020|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809025312/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/may/31/tesco.supermarkets|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=13 April 2010|title=Tesco resurrects online VAT dodge from Channel Islands|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/apr/13/tesco-revives-jersey-vat-avoidance|access-date=29 June 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809031455/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/apr/13/tesco-revives-jersey-vat-avoidance|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2008, the government announced that it was closing a tax loophole being used by Tesco.<ref name="leigh">{{Cite news |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=14 June 2008 |first=David |last=Leigh |title=Government outlaws tax avoidance schemes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jun/14/taxavoidance.tesco |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927184753/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jun/14/taxavoidance.tesco |url-status=live }}</ref> The scheme, identified by British magazine ''[[Private Eye]]'', utilised offshore [[holding companies]] in Luxembourg and partnership agreements to reduce corporation tax liability by up to £50&nbsp;million a year.<ref name="leigh"/> Another scheme previously identified by ''Private Eye'' involved depositing £1&nbsp;billion in a Swiss partnership, and then loaning that money to overseas Tesco shops, so that profit could be transferred indirectly through interest payments. This scheme was still in operation {{As of|2008|6|alt=in June 2008}} and was estimated to be costing the UK exchequer up to £20&nbsp;million a year in corporation tax.<ref name="leigh"/> Tax expert Richard Murphy has provided an analysis of this avoidance structure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2008/06/01/tescos-the-zug-deal-is-tax-avoidance/|first=Richard|last=Murphy|title=Tescos: the Zug deal is tax avoidance|date=1 June 2008|access-date=3 July 2008|archive-date=5 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905212840/http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2008/06/01/tescos-the-zug-deal-is-tax-avoidance/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tax avoidance has not always been related to corporation tax. A number of companies including Tesco used a scheme to avoid VAT by deeming 2.5% of purchases paid for by card to be a 'card transaction fee', which reduced the company's tax liability without changing the charge to the customer. Such schemes came to light after [[HMRC]] litigated against [[Debenhams]] over the scheme in 2005.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brooks |first=Richard |date=2013 |title=The Great Tax Robbery |location=London |publisher=Oneworld |page=297 |isbn=978-1-78074-371-4}}</ref>

===Opposition to expansion===
Tesco's expansion has been criticised, and in some cases actively opposed;
* Plans for a large Tesco shop in [[St Albans]], [[Hertfordshire]], attracted widespread local opposition. This led to the formation of the "Stop St Albans Tesco Group". In June 2008, St Albans Council refused planning permission for the proposed new shop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news/2371862.tesco_may_appeal/ |title=Tesco may appeal |work=St Albans Review |date=30 June 2008 |access-date=29 April 2009 |archive-date=1 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401090445/http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news/2371862.tesco_may_appeal/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In April 2011, longstanding opposition to a Tesco Express shop in Cheltenham Road, [[Stokes Croft]], [[Bristol]], evolved into a violent clash between opponents and police. The recently opened shopfront was heavily damaged, and police reported the seizure of [[Molotov cocktail|petrol bombs]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13167041 |title=Police hurt in violent anti-Tesco clashes in Bristol |work=BBC News |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=22 April 2011 |archive-date=22 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422061019/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13167041 |url-status=live }}</ref> Opponents have suggested that the shop would damage small shops and harm the character of the area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13169684 |title=Chaos in Bristol's 'cultural quarter' |first=Jane |last=Onyanga-Omara |work=BBC News |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=22 April 2011 |archive-date=26 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426003746/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-13169684 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In March 2015 an arson attack gutted a new Tesco Express shop in [[Godalming]], [[Surrey]], two days before it was due to open. Tesco had purchased a public house and converted it into the new store, a change which did not require planning permission, thus denying the vigorous local opposition any formal means of preventing it. After continuing local opposition, including the local MP and borough council, Tesco abandoned its plans for the shop in January 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/tesco-express-not-open-godalming-12652754 |title=Tesco Express will NOT open in Godalming almost two years after devastating arson halted plans |work=Surrey Live |date=24 February 2017 |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031015751/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/tesco-express-not-open-godalming-12652754 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Horse meat found in burgers===
{{Main|2013 meat adulteration scandal}}
In January 2013, the British media reported that [[horse meat]] had been found in some meat products sold by Tesco, along with other retailers, particularly burgers. Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] called this "unacceptable", with products showing 29.1% horse meat in the "Value" range burger, which were supposed to be beef.<ref>{{cite news |first1=James |last1=Meikle |first2=Henry |last2=McDonald |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/16/tesco-burgers-off-shelves-horsemeat |title=Cameron tells supermarkets: horsemeat burger scandal unacceptable |work=The Guardian |date=16 January 2013 |access-date=18 April 2013 |location=London |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716165400/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/16/tesco-burgers-off-shelves-horsemeat |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/9805456/Horse-meat-found-in-burgers-on-sale-in-Tesco.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117130233/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/9805456/Horse-meat-found-in-burgers-on-sale-in-Tesco.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2013 |title=Video: Horse meat found in burgers on sale in Tesco |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=16 January 2013 |access-date=18 April 2013 |location=London}}</ref> It was later revealed in February 2013 that some of Tesco's Everyday Value Spaghetti Bolognese contained 60% horse meat.<ref>{{cite news|title=Horsemeat scandal: Tesco reveals 60% content in dish|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21418342|work=BBC News|access-date=11 February 2013|date=11 February 2013|archive-date=12 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212194314/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21418342|url-status=live}}</ref> Tesco withdrew 26 of its products in response and announced that it was working with authorities and the supplier to investigate the cause of the contamination.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/fresh/meat/horse-meat-scandal-26-tesco-lines-withdrawn/235629.article | title=Horse meat scandal: 26 Tesco lines withdrawn | work=The Grocer | access-date=22 January 2013 | last=Glotz | first=Julia | archive-date=14 February 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214073053/http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/fresh/meat/horse-meat-scandal-26-tesco-lines-withdrawn/235629.article | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Guide dogs===
Following a 2013 incident when the manager of Tesco in Sutton ordered a blind person and her guide dog to leave the shop, Tesco stated that its staff had received training to ensure that such an incident would not happen again.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10806549.Tesco_tells_blind_woman_to_leave_because_of_her_guide_dog/|title=Tesco tells blind woman to leave because of her guide dog|work=Lancashire Telegraph|access-date=14 April 2017|archive-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305034523/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10806549.Tesco_tells_blind_woman_to_leave_because_of_her_guide_dog/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, Tesco staff shouted at a customer with a guide dog and told her not to return to the store.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/tesco-staff-reduce-blind-woman-to-tears-telling-her-to-get-guide-dog-out-9800495.html|title=Tesco staff reduce blind woman to tears telling her to 'get guide dog|date=17 October 2014|work=The Independent|access-date=14 April 2017|archive-date=21 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921192505/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/tesco-staff-reduce-blind-woman-to-tears-telling-her-to-get-guide-dog-out-9800495.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Tesco later said: "This clearly should never have happened and we will contact Ms Makri directly to apologise. We do allow guide dogs in stores and have reminded colleagues of that" and donated £5,000 to a guide dogs charity.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rucki|first=Alexandra|date=18 October 2014|title=Tesco donate £5,000 to charity after blind student shouted at for|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tesco-donate-ps5-000-to-charity-after-blind-student-shouted-at-for-bringing-guide-dog-to-store-9803929.html|access-date=6 April 2021|website=Evening Standard|language=en|archive-date=15 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715183651/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tesco-donate-ps5-000-to-charity-after-blind-student-shouted-at-for-bringing-guide-dog-to-store-9803929.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Slavery in Thailand===
In 2014, ''The Guardian'' reported that Tesco is a client of [[Charoen Pokphand Foods]]. Over six months ''The Guardian'' traced the whole chain from slave ships in Asian waters to leading producers and retailers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour |title=Revealed: Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK |last1=Hodal |first1=Kate |first2=Chris |last2=Kelly |first3=Felicity |last3=Lawrence |date=10 June 2014 |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=11 June 2014 |archive-date=11 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611032723/http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Sale of goods from Israel===
Tesco has been targeted by protesters complaining the supermarket chain sells goods made in Israel, with most complaints being about products emanating from [[Israeli settlement]]s in the [[West Bank]]. Protests generally occur when Israeli military operations are being carried out in the [[Gaza Strip]] or the West Bank. A protester was arrested at a protest at a shop in [[Birmingham]] on 16 August 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gaza protesters hit Tesco shop in Birmingham|url=http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/224824007|date=17 August 2014|access-date=17 August 2014|publisher=Big News Network.com|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082439/http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/224824007|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sale of anti-semitic books===
In 2005, ''[[Searchlight (magazine)|Searchlight]]'' magazine said it was "horrified" to discover anti-semitic books by US extremist publisher Liberty Bell on the Tesco website. Titles offered for sale included ''The Hitler We Loved and Why'', ''[[The International Jew]]'', and ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]''. ''Searchlight'' found another 106 titles by British-based publisher Steven Books which it describes as "so extreme that even the British National Party does not sell them". The shop said in a statement: "Tesco.com has over one million book titles covering a wide range of subjects. We are unhappy that titles which could cause offence to some customers have found their way on to our site and took immediate action to remove them once they were brought to our attention."<ref>{{cite news|title=Tesco pulls anti-Semitic books|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/offline-tesco-pulls-anti-semitic-books-1.521714|date=26 November 2005|access-date=10 April 2018|newspaper=The Irish Times|archive-date=10 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410071921/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/offline-tesco-pulls-anti-semitic-books-1.521714|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Suppliers===
The UK [[Groceries Code Adjudicator]] found in a 2015–16 investigation into Tesco that some suppliers paid "large sums of money in exchange for [[category captain]]cy or participation in a price review". She found some evidence of benefits which suppliers derive from these arrangements but also recorded a concern—to be investigated further—as to whether the purpose of the Groceries Code was being circumvented by these payments.<ref>Groceries Code Adjudicator, [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494840/GCA_Tesco_plc_final_report_26012016_-_version_for_download.pdf Investigation into Tesco plc] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607234646/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494840/GCA_Tesco_plc_final_report_26012016_-_version_for_download.pdf |date=7 June 2016 }}, published 26 January 2016</ref>

===Amazon rainforest deforestation===
In June 2021 there were protests outside Tesco Headquarters<ref>{{Cite web|title=Activists protest against greenwashing at Tesco head office - Retail Gazette|url=https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/06/activists-protest-against-greenwashing-at-tesco-head-office/|access-date=28 August 2021|website=retailgazette.co.uk|date=29 June 2021|archive-date=28 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828195657/https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/06/activists-protest-against-greenwashing-at-tesco-head-office/|url-status=live}}</ref> in Welwyn Garden City<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 June 2021|title=Tesco AGM: Activists rally against greenwashing and unsustainable meat|url=https://www.cityam.com/tesco-agm-activists-rally-against-greenwashing-and-unsustainable-meat/|access-date=28 August 2021|website=CityAM|language=en-GB|archive-date=28 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828195657/https://www.cityam.com/tesco-agm-activists-rally-against-greenwashing-and-unsustainable-meat/|url-status=live}}</ref> due to the involvement of Tesco in deforestation and forest fires in Brazil, as this is where Tesco sources the soy used to feed livestock for its meat produce.<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 August 2021|title=Greenpeace activists protest Tesco as meat supplier linked to Amazon forest fires|url=https://leftfootforward.org/2021/08/greenpeace-activists-protest-tesco-as-meat-supplier-linked-to-amazon-forest-fires/|access-date=28 August 2021|website=Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate|language=en-GB|archive-date=28 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828175312/https://leftfootforward.org/2021/08/greenpeace-activists-protest-tesco-as-meat-supplier-linked-to-amazon-forest-fires/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Allegation of xenophobia===
On 21 November 2020, a member of the [[Romanian diaspora]] in the United Kingdom said that in the Telford store<ref name=Safdar/> there was a warning for shoplifters written in [[Romanian language|Romanian]] that said "notice for store thieves, you will be legally prosecuted if caught stealing". The [[Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] (MAE) expressed its "surprise and disagreement against the strongly discriminating message".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.romaniajournal.ro/society-people/social/warning-message-for-thieves-in-romanian-language-displayed-in-uk-based-tesco-store-mae-reacts-notifies-the-police/|title=Warning message for thieves in Romanian language displayed in UK-based Tesco store. MAE reacts, notifies the police|newspaper=The Romania Journal|date=23 November 2020|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123182056/https://www.romaniajournal.ro/society-people/social/warning-message-for-thieves-in-romanian-language-displayed-in-uk-based-tesco-store-mae-reacts-notifies-the-police/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://rmx.news/article/article/romanians-angry-after-tesco-uk-puts-up-theft-warning-in-their-language|title=Romanians angry after Tesco UK puts up theft warning in their language|first=Dénes|last=Albert|newspaper=Remix News|date=24 November 2020|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201155612/https://rmx.news/article/article/romanians-angry-after-tesco-uk-puts-up-theft-warning-in-their-language|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Safdar>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/25/tesco-accused-of-racism-with-romanian-anti-shoplifting-posters|title=Tesco accused of racism with Romanian anti-shoplifting posters|first=Anealla|last=Safdar|publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|date=25 November 2020|access-date=9 December 2020|archive-date=10 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210012638/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/25/tesco-accused-of-racism-with-romanian-anti-shoplifting-posters|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Partnership with Usdaw===
The relationship between the trade union [[Usdaw]] and Tesco management, has been met with criticism, with the union seemingly presenting itself as being concerned more with maintaining its positive, comfortable position and easy membership supply than that of fair representation of its members,<ref name="CUP1">{{cite book |last1=Brookes |first1=Marissa |title=The new politics of transnational labor : why some alliances succeed |date=2019 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |location=[[Ithaca, New York]] |isbn=9781501733208 |pages=101 |edition=illustrated |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24x8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=en |chapter=(3) Service Sector Solidarity: Coordinating the Tesco and G4S Campaigns}}</ref> earning the union the pejorative backronym of ''Useless Seven Days A Week'' amongst workers and trade unionists.<ref name="CUP1"/><ref name="0161F1">{{cite web |title="Precarious" work and industrial organisation in modern Britain (PART 2) |url=https://0161festival.com/precarious-work-and-industrial-organisation-in-modern-britain-part-2/ |website=0161 Festival |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623114311/https://0161festival.com/precarious-work-and-industrial-organisation-in-modern-britain-part-2/ |archive-date=23 June 2021 |location=[[Manchester]] |language=en |date=29 March 2019}}</ref>

=== E.Coli Cases ===
In June 2024, legal firm Fieldfisher said on Friday it had issued letters of claim for breach of the Consumer Protection Act over own-brand sandwiches purchased in Tesco and Asda. The claims for compensation relate to a man from the South East and an 11-year-old girl in the North West.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-28 |title=Asda and Tesco face legal action over E. coli outbreak |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c880rekylxxo |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>