Influencer sparks debate after snacking on food in grocery store before paying

When it comes to grocery shopping there are some things you just never do: shop while hungry, bring a small child down the checkout lane with candy, park your cart in the middle of an aisle… You get the point.

However, there’s one thing that many are perfectly okay with while others consider it a major faux pas – snacking on food before paying for it.

Cecily Bauchmann, a lifestyle influencer on TikTok, shared a pair of videos on the app showing herself shopping at a Publix in Tennessee. In the first video she documented her entire trip, which included a little snack break.

“So freakin’ good,” she said with a mouth full of sushi.

Bauchmann later uploaded a shorter clip showing her informing the cashier she had already opening the package of sushi.

“OPENING FOOD IS A NORMAL THING AT THE GROCERY STORE K?” she captioned the 12-second clip.

Not only did the TikTok video go viral, but it also sparked a heated debate.

Is it okay to open food at the grocery store and consume it before you pay for it?

While the cashier didn’t seem to mind, many online condemned Bauchmann for her behavior.

“My aunt used to do this… it was embarrassing lol,” one TikTok user wrote.

“Never done this, taught to never do this,” another user commented.

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But not everyone was against the practice.

“It be like that sometimes, I be starving,” one person wrote.

“Yes, from time to time it is just necessary,” someone else commented.

Several people also raised the issue of white privilege. Would Bauchmann have been treated differently if she wasn’t white?

“Now if a non white person opened up food and ate it before paying it wouldn’t be ‘cute’ you are using your privilege smh,” one person wrote.

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What do you think about snacking on food in the grocery store before you purchased it?

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