Tasting before you buy can be tempting, but it’s a divisive practice. What does the rule really say?
In a supermarket, we are sometimes tempted to nibble on the products sold, to satisfy a small hunger or the desire to taste before buying. Picking a grape or opening a packet of crisps while shopping is an enticing practice. But is it really allowed?
It mostly depends on what happens next. As long as the item is not paid for, legally it still belongs to the store. Using it without permission is therefore considered theft, a crime punishable by three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros. Supermarkets therefore have the right to refer the matter to the authorities.
But there is, in reality, no clear legislation on this subject: the stores are free to set their own rules. Most retailers tolerate a person nibbling a biscuit from a packet in their trolley that they then pay for. What is more annoying is when it is a dirty or smelly food or if a customer nibbles excessively.
The other major problem concerns products where the price depends on the weight, such as loose fruit and vegetables. How can you know what proportion has already been consumed by the customer? It then becomes difficult to set a price once at the checkout. This habit may be due to a misinterpretation of Article 1587 of the Civil Code : “With regard to wine, oil and other things that are usually tasted before being purchased, there is no sale until the buyer has tasted and approved them”. However, this article is very old and applies more to tasting places such as cellars, salons and fairs than to supermarkets.
To be at peace, if you really have a hunger pang, you can take a first trip to the supermarket, buy your snack, pay for it and with the receipt or by asking to impose the mention “paid”, you can nibble on the product during your shopping without being worried. Even if the easiest thing is still to hold back.
There are other rights and prohibitions in supermarkets that are not very well known. For example, you have the right to open the cap of a bottle of shampoo to smell its scent as long as you do not damage the bottle. You can also take a bottle out of its pack. You are, once again, simply required not to damage the packaging. Article L121-11 of the Consumer Code prohibits, in fact, making the sale of a product conditional on the purchase of an imposed quantity.