Yakima Shoppers: Think Twice Before Eating This at the Store

Well, you might want to think twice the next time you sample something from a Yakima store. There could be more dangers than just a simple "petty theft" charge hitting you.

Imagine This Shopping Scenario

You're out shopping, in the produce section. You grab a bunch of grapes, pop one into your mouth to try it. They taste good, so you put them into a plastic bag (that surprisingly the grocery store doesn't charge you 12 cents for... yet) and throw it in your cart.

As you're walking around, aisle to aisle, more and more grapes go in your mouth. It's not stealing, because you're going to pay for them.

woman in gray sweater holding red round fruit — Photo by Victoria Priessnitz on Unsplash

But now you're thirsty, so you grab a Dr. Pepper to wash down the grapes, and just like potato chips, you can't have just one. So you grab another Dr. Pepper, and speaking of chips, now you need something salty, so you rip open a bag of Lay's; now store security is following you.

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You get up there to pay, and you tell them everything you are... but the grapes are by the pound, so you now have to sit on the scanner to get your weight. Still, they don't have a pre-grocery store shopping spree weight, so they use your driver's license and lied on your license about your weight, so you are charged for eating 57 pounds of grapes, and you're embarrassed because your big butt broke the produce scale.

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Let's just say, this is why I'm not allowed in Walmart anymore.

All joking aside, yes, eating a grape is technically stealing, but one won't raise any alarms, and some stores have a policy that allows taste testing certain items.

The real danger comes from eating what others have touched and might not have been properly washed. Salmonella or other harmful bacteria, or even residue from pesticides, could linger on the produce, making you incredibly sick.

There's a lot more to worry about than just a petty theft when it comes to grape sampling at a store. And don't even get me started on donut sampling!