Going to the supermarket when you’re hungry can be a real struggle, as you’ll soon find yourself tempted to buy everything you see.
While there you might also be tempted to tuck into a packet of crisps, or take a cheeky bite of a chocolate bar from your basket, snacking as you walk up and down the various aisles.
This is a pretty common habit in shops, with adults curbing their cravings with treats and parents giving things to their children to keep them occupied while they load up the trolley.
But it turns out if you’ve been doing this, you’re technically breaking the law.
Criminal Law expert Rachel Adamson told the Liverpool Echo that the act is still considered illegal under section six of the Theft Act 1968, which is all to do with the ‘intention of permanently depriving the other of it’.
Section six states: ‘A person appropriating property belonging to another without meaning the other permanently to lose the thing itself is nevertheless to be regarded as having the intention of permanently depriving the other of it if his intention is to treat the thing as his own to dispose of regardless of the other’s rights; and a borrowing or lending of it may amount to so treating it if, but only if, the borrowing or lending is for a period and in circumstances making it equivalent to an outright taking or disposal.’
It continues to say: ‘Without prejudice to the generality of subsection above, where a person, having possession or control (lawfully or not) of property belonging to another, parts with the property under a condition as to its return which he may not be able to perform, this (if done for purposes of his own and without the other’s authority) amounts to treating the property as his own to dispose of regardless of the other’s rights.’
So even though you might have the good intention of paying for the item you’ve eaten, as you hadn’t paid for it in advance, you took it while it belonged to the supermarket.
Ownership of the item isn’t transferred to you until you’ve paid for it at the till, so you have stolen it.
Rachel added: ‘Only when that sale is complete do you have the legal right to consume or use it.
‘If you eat the chocolate before you legally own it, you are permanently depriving the owner of his right to the product – he can no longer refuse you the sale or take the item off the shelves.’
It will often be at the supermarket’s discretion whether or not they consider this habit to be an offence, and it may also depend on what you were consuming.
For instance if you were eating an item that you have to weigh at the till, such as a bag of fruit, and the weight when you pay is less than it should have been because you ate some of it, you can see how this would be an issue.
For those that are considered to have committed an offence under the Theft Act, the offence is triable, with a maximum penalty in the Crown Court of seven years imprisonment, and/or an unlimited fine, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
The topic of eating food in the supermarket has been a big talking point of late after a mum confessed to letting her children eat food she hadn’t paid for in the supermarket.
The parent was slammed by fellow TikTok users who told her she was ‘the worst’ for doing this.
Samantha Mary took to social media to rant about her ‘bad experience’ in her local Tesco, where she claimed an employee made her feel ‘really cross and upset’ for criticising her actions.
She shared that she’d allowed her son Jack to eat a pouch of baby food she was buying, and she didn’t see an issue with it as she planned to pay for it. But fellow TikTok users weren’t as sympathetic with her situation as she’d perhaps hoped they’d be.
TikToker Kelly Rice commented: ‘It’s 100% her job to let you know you’re NOT allowed to eat or drink anything before you’ve paid for it. I use to work at Tesco and you are the worst.’
More than 2,300 people agreed with her and others were quick to chime in.
Ellen Waterman said: ‘I agree with Tesco on this one. Especially if you’re not carrying cash… if your card declines and you can’t pay it’s definitely theft. Pay then eat.’
Jenny Thompson added: ‘I’m sorry I agree with Tesco on this. When I was a child I was taught it’s stealing if you haven’t paid for it yet even if you intend to pay after!’
However, not everyone thought it was a big deal, and some admitted to doing the same thing.
Jackie James said: ‘I work at a Tesco on checkouts and mums let their children snack on their shopping. I don’t mind them doing it, whatever help them get round the shop calmly for them.
Laura Jayne added: ‘I always let my son eat on the way round! Crisps, sandwich, yoghurt, drinks! Couldn’t care less, he’s happy!’
And now it seems we know, it really wasn’t a good idea in the first place. So perhaps let it be a warning to always pack a snack of your own when shopping…
This article was first published in January 2024.
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