The Foods You Should Never Eat At The Grocery Store Before Paying

You're pushing your cart through the aisles of the supermarket or grocery store, tossing in the items on your list and adding a few impulse buys for good measure, when you feel your stomach grumbling. Though you're trying to get through your shopping trip as quickly as possible, you're finding it challenging to ignore that hunger — especially considering you're surrounded by food that could so easily be opened and snacked on. But what's the protocol for eating items at the grocery store before actually making your way through checkout?

People tend to fall into two camps. Some have no issue with middle-of-the-aisle snacking, while others consider it completely unacceptable to open items before you've actually purchased them. Whatever opinion you hold, there's one important factor to consider: what you're looking to snack on. You see, the type of food you opt to consume prior to paying matters.

If you're buying a packaged snack, the cashier will be able to scan the barcode and you'll pay the same amount, whether you've consumed just a handful of the crackers or half the bag. Your snacking won't affect the price you pay whatsoever. If you're purchasing something that's priced by weight, however, that's a different matter. Items like fruit or loose bulk goods are priced by weight, so if you've chowed down on 100 grams of bulk cashews before the cashier checks you out, you won't end up paying for what you ate.

You know that snacking on items where you're charged by weight is a no-no, but you're still a little nervous about popping open that packaged item to snack on, which makes sense. The fact is, every supermarket or grocery store is different in what they'll allow. In some stores, you might get stopped for opening a box of granola bars in the middle of aisle seven, while in others, they won't even blink at your grazing. If you're uncertain about the rules and don't want to get in trouble, it may be best to just flag down one of the employees and ask if there's any issue with you opening a particular item that you intend on purchasing that day.

Still, know that you might get some looks, as people have strong opinions on the topic. A Reddit user asked about the social acceptability of consuming food prior to paying, and the simple query racked up over 191 comments with many people weighing in.

Some mentioned that age is an important element, suggesting that it's far more acceptable for a parent to give their child a mid-shopping snack than for an adult to take one for themselves. Others emphasized that the acceptability hinges on what you're giving the cashier to scan. A tidy package of opened trail mix, for example, would be fine, while an opened rotisserie chicken with grease on the exterior of the packaging would be seriously bad form.