By AJ Vicens

June 9 (Reuters) - United Natural Foods Inc ( UNFI ) one

of the largest U.S. grocery distributors whose clients include

Whole Foods, took certain systems offline in recent days after

the discovery of unauthorized activity on internal networks, the

company said on Monday.

A Whole Foods spokesperson told Reuters in an email on

Monday that the company was "working to restock our shelves as

quickly as possible" and referred additional questions back to

United Natural.

Shares of United Natural fell more than 8% during Monday's

session and closed down by almost 7% at $25.94.

United Natural, based in Rhode Island, said in a June 9

filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it

"proactively" took some systems offline after becoming aware

June 5 of unauthorized activity on certain networks.

The company said the incident temporarily hurt its "ability

to fulfill and distribute customer orders." It added that the

incident "is expected to continue to cause temporary

disruptions" to its operations.

There have been a spate of cyber incidents affecting major

retailers in the UK and the U.S. recently, including Marks &

Spencer ( MAKSF ), Co-op, Harrods and Victoria's Secret.

United Natural did not specify the "unauthorized activity."

In the past, disruptions that caused companies to take actions

similar to those it described have often been linked to

ransomware incidents, where extortion-minded cybercriminals

disable a firm's computers by encrypting them, promising to

release the decryption key only in exchange for massive

cryptocurrency payments.

United Natural Foods ( UNFI ) is the largest publicly traded

wholesale distributor of "healthier food options" in the U.S.

and Canada, according to its website. In May 2024 the company

announced an eight-year extension to serve as primary

distributor for Amazon ( AMZN )-owned Whole Foods.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

United Natural Foods ( UNFI ) reported $8.2 billion in net sales in

the 13-week period ending February 1, 2025.