Let's just get right to it. So, when you are shopping at a grocery store you pretty much see it all. Is

Is What I Saw in a Texarkana Grocery Store Breaking the Law?

I was recently doing some grocery shopping at a neighborhood market when I noticed someone coming toward me and eating some donuts they apparently hadn't paid for yet. But it didn't stop there they strolled over to the refrigerated milk cases and got a small bottle of milk opened it and began to drink it. I thought to myself, is this legal? You see it all the time. You would think that an employer would come over and say something but they didn't. So, can you legally do that in a store?

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Is this considered shoplifting?

According to the website Find Law  Shoplifting constitutes taking an item offered for sale with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the store without paying for it. Basically, you have to be in the act of stealing the item and evading the checkout in order to be found guilty of shoplifting.

Now in the case of opening up an item in a store and eating it while you continue shopping would only be considered unlawful if you do not pay for the item at the checkout counter. A lot depends on the item such as a bag of chips that has a fixed price but other items such as produce, and dried goods are based on weight so that could turn out to be a problem. You are obligated to pay for how much you took from the store, so if you don't pay, by law you've stolen it.

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There is a lot of gray area of what is considered legal or not legal, but chances are if you are not questioned by a loss-prevention officer, store employee, or cashier you most likely won't be prosecuted. A lot depends on the store's security policies and what they consider shoplifting or not.

But do you really want to take that chance or are you just willing to live with the guilt you did something wrong and know it? Honesty is the best policy here.

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What about opening a boxed item?

There is nothing wrong with opening a box of an item like an appliance to check the contents to see if it's something that will work for you. Many customers do this all the time to inspect the item and realize it's not right for them. It is not illegal to inspect a product in this manner without ultimately buying it.

I hope this information helps the next time you are doing your shopping and see somebody eating something.

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