I'll admit it.  I'm not one to sneak a grape from the produce section at the store while I'm shopping.  When my grocery list and I are working our way through Brookshire's, I'm way too focused on the sales and coupons to grab a bite.

People do it all the time though. They might snack on a few grapes, or they might open a bag of chips and eat while shopping, intending to pay for the chips at the end.  Even if the bag is empty when you get to the checkout, you can still scan the bag.

But sometimes people forget to pay!  Are you a store grazer?

A new survey says about 4 in 10 people eat their way through the grocery store while they're shopping.  43 percent of the people said they had grazed one or two times, and 41 percent said they do it regularly.

Eating the chips or the candy bar before you hit the checkout is not the problem.  If you still have the wrapper you can scan it and pay for it, and everyone is happy.  It's the missing bread and produce that's harder to track.  It may only be a grape or two, but it's still considered shoplifting!  If you end up in court, it will sound kinda funny when the judge tells the court you're there because you downed a handful of red seedless grapes and got caught in the act.

Is this why more and more stores are offering free food samples, especially in the produce section?  Perhaps they're trying to divert our attention and keep our stomachs satisfied on the shopping trip.  And often times when we try the sample, we end up buying the item.  It's a win-win for the store.

And it's guilt-free eating for shoppers.

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