Grocery store not place for gross behavior

Recent videos spark many questions without clear answers

It is hard to fathom what people are thinking sometimes.

Over the last week, two different people have been arrested after they walked into grocery stores and opened and licked ice cream before putting the containers back on the shelf.

In both cases, the individuals filmed videos of the act. In the first case, in Texas, a teen was eventually identified by police, who then turned the case over to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

In the second case, in Louisiana, the a 36-year-old suspect did pay for the ice cream after shooting the video, but police charged him on counts of unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity, as well as criminal mischief, the Today show reports.

Both cases are head-scratchers. Why would someone want to taint food like that, or appear to taint it?

It’s unsettling to think that people would try to give that impression or deliberately take that action.

When it comes to grocery shopping, there’s a lot of trust involved.

Walk through any grocery store, and there is a risk of food contamination by people, whether it’s accidental or deliberate.

The bakery section, for example, is full of displays of donuts, bread, rolls and bagels, intended for consumers to purchase by selecting one and putting it in a bag — these aren’t presealed items.

The produce aisles too are up for grabs, since produce is rarely sealed in plastic.

Any of these areas, much like an unsealed ice cream container, could be tainted in some way, shape or form, but we trust that human decency would prevent someone from doing such a thing.

And, in a world inundated with packaging, items such as these are the exception. Ice cream, of course, is packaged, but some brands skip the plastic seal, and that’s OK — we don’t need more plastic used in the world. And it would be unfortunate if videos such as the ice cream incidents encouraged companies to increase their packaging.

We trust that the vast majority of people can handle themselves while grocery shopping. And if not, we would hope that fellow shoppers would take action, and find an employee for help.