Is it illegal to eat food at the supermarket before paying? The Truth About Common Parental Distraction Techniques

We’ve all been there, walking through the supermarket and giving your child a snack from the shelves before actually paying.

Maybe you’ve done it yourself with a bottle of water or nibbled on the corner of a baguette that seemed too good to wait.

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It’s a technique parents love for those stressful shopping trips – but are you really allowed to do it?

You may be surprised to discover that you technically may be breaking the law.

Speaking with the echo of LiverpoolCriminal law expert Rachel Adamson explained that consuming food and drink that you have not yet purchased but plan to is still considered illegal under section six of the Theft Act 1968.

This has to do with the “intention to permanently deprive the other of this”.

The section states that “A person who appropriates property belonging to another, without meaning that the other permanently loses the thing itself, shall, however, be deemed to have intended to permanently deprive the other of it, if his intention is treat the thing as yours to independently alienate the rights of another; and a loan or borrowing may amount to treating it in that way if, but only if, the loan or borrowing is for a period and in circumstances which make it equivalent to an outright taking or disposal.

What this basically means is that even if you planned to pay for the food, because you didn’t pay before eating, you took something that didn’t belong to you.

Yes, that essentially means you stole it.

This is because ownership of the item doesn’t actually transfer to you until you pay for it at the checkout.

“Only when the sale is complete will you have the legal right to consume or use it,” Rachel said.

“If you eat the chocolate before legally possessing it, you will be permanently depriving the owner of their right to the product – they will no longer be able to refuse the sale or remove the item from the shelves.”

You may be lucky enough to find that some supermarkets do not consider having a snack before paying a violation, but this is at your discretion.

If the supermarket considers it a crime, it is subject to trial and has a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and/or an unlimited fine, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Many people were divided over the issue on social media, it came after a mother was embarrassed for letting her child eat a packet of baby food she was buying while they were walking down the aisles.

Posting on TikTok, the mother, whose name is Samantha Mary, said she didn’t think it would be a problem as she had every intention of paying for it.

But some people thought she was wrong.

“It is 100% her job to let you know that you are NOT allowed to eat or drink anything before paying. I worked at Tesco and you are the worst,” one person commented.

And a second said: “I agree with Tesco on this point. Especially if you’re not carrying cash… if your card is declined and you can’t pay, it’s definitely theft. Pay and eat.”