Criticism of Tesco summer 2012 according to a leaked document. Ready packed meal firm Findus, Compass Group was the world's biggest catering firm at the time, and Whitbread, which was Britain's biggest hotel group, were indicted for illegally selling concealed horse meat in food products. Compass Group had sold it to 47 Lancashire schools and a "small number" of schools in northern Ireland. As a result, Tesco dropped in market value by Wednesday 16 January 2013. Tesco, the Co-operative Group and Aldi also decided to cancel contracts with ABP Food Group because of the adulteration. In a public letter later that day, 11
Tesco site as part of a precautionary security measure. This coincided with several other retailers, including CVS and Walmart Canada, shutting down similar services regarding a security breach at PNI Digital Media. 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 captaincy 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. Tesco Tesco plc, trading