Malicious Food Tampering vs. Stupid Food Thieves

[Andara Bledin]

You know, I'm quite shocked at how far people will go to rationalize all sorts of bad behavior in response to bad behavior (last I checked, two wrongs still didn't come out right) rather than take trivial steps to ensure their food can't be stolen in the first place.

Honestly, doing stupid shit to your own food just to get back at someone who may or may not steal it is petty and immature.

[Ginger Tea]

I would agree with the second line ONLY if said food was tainted somehow and never to be consumed by the owner, if it's an un edible mess (stuffed full of hot sauce or a bottle with urine in it) I am doing myself a bigger disservice than trying to get back at a food thief.

Chances are, the day I spike the food is the day mine doesn't go missing (or the guy is off) and I'm left to starve this time of my own design. It's one thing to loose out on food to someone's sticky fingers and something else altogether to ditch a Nutella sandwich because it's actually chocolate exlax.

Yes mr Peanut allergy would get sick (or perhaps even die) eating my sandwich (although how he could MISS peanut butter is beyond me), but I WILL NOT shape my diet to fit in with the medical needs of others outside of those I personally feed.

Regardless of their reaction sever, fatal or just a trip to the loo, so long as I was going to eat that fucking sandwich at lunch, it matters not what I put in it (so long as it is food safe), it was meant to be me eating it, I will NOT label my food with allergen warnings. I. HAVE. NONE.

You get carted off to the morgue and I lament that I have no fucking lunch, callous? yes, but if you have an allergy and take food that you didn't prepare or know the ingredients to, then you are basically playing Russian roulette to begin with, there was an advert in the UK for Reeses Pieces, lampooning the scene in Deer Hunter, I've never had them and I don't think they have been in the UK long (4 years maybe?) but I think there are 3 fillings, raisin, peanut and a 3rd, though I could be wrong and its only two.

Offering food is a totally different kettle of fish, if I know something has allergens in it I would say so.
That bag of Reeses Pieces, not gonna be offered, same with a bowl of M&M's though shaped differently, a quick glance might not show it and it's too late a hand full is already in the mouth.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

If you're just bringing a lunch that happens to have peanuts in it (or whatever allergen) for your own enjoyment then my point is moot.

My point stands if the scenario is as presented (you know XXX is stealing your food, you know XXX has YYY allergy, you bring food with YYY ingrediant).

[s_stabeler]

if you aren't eating it just to mess with the thief, it's more acceptable, but I'd still stick a warning on it, frankly. It takes but a moment- and it reduces the chance of the thief stealing your lunch, if it is an honest mistaker, it'll bring them up short, and if the thief DOES steal your lunch, if they complain, you can say "my lunch had a warning on it about the peanuts- It's hardly my fault if he didn't look at the bag before eating the food."- it's a CYA move, more than anything.

[MadMike]

My personal belief is, if something bad happens to you as a direct result of something you clearly should not be doing, I have no sympathy for you. I've had food and sodas vanish from the company fridge, and while I didn't do anything harmful, I did shake the hell out of one of the sodas before I put it in the fridge. That was the last time one of my sodas ever got stolen.

There's also the possibility someone might accidentally eat someone else's food (It happened to me on either side once or twice) hence my labeling and precautions above.

And this is the best reason not to use anything toxic or harmful to get back at a food thief. While I have no sympathy for thieves, sometimes mistakes do happen. And I don't like the idea of someone getting sickened or worse because of an innocent mistake.

If I really wanted to get back at a food thief, all I'd have to do is bring in hot wings for lunch. I like them ridiculously hot, and most people can't even get near them, let alone eat them. The one time I got them, the bartender made quite a face when she was bringing them out, holding the plate at arm's length. As she set them down, she told her, "You're insane!"

[Ginger Tea]

Using the peanut allergy, should I be in the shoes of "my foods always going missing, tomorrow I'm bringing in a peanut butter sandwich." I would only do that if I would myself eat said sandwich should it not be taken.

Chances are I would find it un eaten in the bin than the fridge as someone would probably grab the bag, look into it and see the peanut butter, its hard to miss (unless its hidden as a smear under some ham). I don't think said food thief would then put the sandwich back, I am 80% positive that any food thieves that look at their haul see something they don't like just bin it.

I used to use peanut butter instead of regular butter with some cold meat sandwiches, but it would always cover the whole slice and be obvious, I would not have some small section that you couldn't see but only find upon biting into it.

I would not label my food with allergy info as I have none (except possibly for carbonated drinks), it would be sealed so I shouldn't have to worry about cross contamination even if sealed is just "Sandwich bag with a name label sticking it down" or a Ziploc and not full on lock down.

I read some time back on not always working about a Jewish co-worker who would help him/herself to food on the posters desk and one day it was already in his mouth before s/he could say "That contains bacon." which prompted him/her to spit it out dramatically.

If that was me, I would not even mention the bacon, unlike the peanut allergy, bacon isn't life threatening to a Jewish or Muslim persons life, just listed as 'unclean', or if I did comment on the bacon in it, it would be long after they had swallowed that spitting it out would not be an option but full on fingers down the throat if they were as melodramatic as the one I read.

I have every right to have bacon, peanut butter or any other legal food stuffs in my food, I don't give a fuck if you could die eating my food, if today is peanut butter jelly day, and it was something I would eat from time to time.

I wouldn't however taint something with sea food to get back at someone, as the food would have to be something I myself am willing to eat, I wouldn't drop a bag of prawns on the bread before making my ham sarnie on the off chance the cross contamination of a few seconds of touching the bread was minor enough to be a deterrent, even if it has no taste to me, as I wouldn't have prawns on me as I am not a fan of them.

TLDR it would be something I myself would eat and if you might end up in A&E over it tough.
I would NOT spike food, especially if it means I am the first to the fridge and now can not eat my own food.

[Andara Bledin]

If your food is properly sealed and labeled, it shouldn't matter what's in it or what anyone else in the building is allergic to.

As has been mentioned several times now, the issue arises from including something for the express purpose of being unpleasant for someone else you have a reason to believe might eat it instead of yourself. Even suggesting that you might do it would set you up for a serious round of shit if anything actually happened, even if you never actually tampered with your own food.

You just don't joke about poisoning people in the workplace in the same way you don't joke about bombs at the airport. It's not enough to just be innocent.

[Gravekeeper]

Well, if someone has a serious peanut allergy. IE they have to carry an epi-pen to avoid death. Then its likely the staff would know due to how serious of a threat it is. If someone is just lactose intolerant then no, there's no real cause to share or be aware of said information. >.>

The problem with laying a "trap" as has already been mentioned is that it possibly demonstrates premeditation should the result be serious.

[Dreamstalker]

Is there still a need to label with any allergens if there are no known allergies in the workplace and/or all the ingredients in the food are visible? That seems to be going overboard to me...like cans of mixed nuts that have "Allergen warning: contains nuts".

Example: I like Asian food. If I bring some leftovers that contain peanuts, stupid-hot chilies and shellfish or seafood (all potential allergens) and everything is visible in the dish, AFAIK no need to label ingredients as there are no known allergies at work and you can see what's in it. If someone who knows they're allergic to peanuts or shellfish (both items that are visible in the food) eats it anyway just to be a dick...IMO they deserve what happens. Not sure about undiagnosed allergies...shouldn't be stealing food anyway.

[s_stabeler]

Also, my point was that it's not acceptable to DELIBERATELY bring in something designed to cause an allergic reaction. Basically, my point was that it is unacceptable to deliberately cause someone an allergic reaction. Do bear in mind that if you deliberately brought in something to cause a food thief to get an allergic reaction, if it turns out the reaction was lethal ( as it can well be) then you are technically guilty of murder.(It counts as poisoning.)

It comes down to motive. Do you want your lunch left alone, or do you want revenge on the thief? If you want your lunch left alone, label it with the allergen. If you want revenge, then don't dress it up as an accident.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Honestly, our responses were directly aimed at OP's scenario of "You know who is stealing the food and you know they have XXX allergy, therefore you bring food that HAS that allergen in it."

We get that YOUR food is YOURS. However, if you know someone is stealing it, you know they WILL steal it pretty much everyday, and you HAPPEN to know they are allergic to XX item - bringing a food item that has their allergen in it is basically you specifically trying to get them sick at that point. If you are unsure how serious of a reaction they have, they could very well nearly die.

So if you are PURPOSEFULLY bringing an allergen containing food SPECIFICALLY to get that person sick... in my opinion taking a marker and writing "has peanuts" is a pitiful amount of more effort than taking that marker and writing "Eltf177's food." Except writing the "has peanuts" is far more likely to keep your food safe that just writing your _name_ to say the lunch bag is _yours_.

[eltf177]

I see it as a mix of both. Just because there is a food thief, it doesn't mean you should AVOID foods that might give them an allergic reaction. However, if you DELIBERATELY have food that would give the thief an allergic reaction, that is shitty.

This assumes you both know who the thief is and what their allergies/dislikes are. Let's face it, how often does that happen?

and the labelling is to avoid liability if the thief does get an allergic reaction. Plus, it helps further mark your food as definitively yours.

The only label I need is my name. I'm not about to waste time writing down what's in my lunch. My name marks it as _mine_, any claim it was an "honest mistake" goes out the window if they didn't bother to look at the bag before consuming it...

[s_stabeler]

I see it as a mix of both. Just because there is a food thief, it doesn't mean you should AVOID foods that might give them an allergic reaction. However, if you DELIBERATELY have food that would give the thief an allergic reaction, that is shitty.

and the labelling is to avoid liability if the thief does get an allergic reaction. Plus, it helps further mark your food as definitively yours.

[eltf177]

I would only condone the "bringing peanut including food to stop a peanut-allergic thief" trick if the person LABELED the food as "Owner - CONTAINS PEANUTS." If they STILL steal it and eat it, it is THEIR fault they had the reaction. *shrugs*

Of course, most of the time no one knows who the thief is (although there may be strong suspicions/clues), and I have _no_ clue what allergies (if any) my co-workers have. So I see no reason to label what's in my lunch - it's _my_ lunch and you have no right to it.

Food thieves take their chances with allergies or people who like super-hot/super-spicy food...

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Well, I've seen a peanut-allergic person constantly steal other people's food from the fridge and break room. I went around with tape and under the tape labeling the owner's name, I put "contains peanuts."

Soon it just became a thing where everyone's lunch would be labeled like that, and nothing was ever stolen again. Thief couldn't risk it.

I would only condone the "bringing peanut including food to stop a peanut-allergic thief" trick if the person LABELED the food as "Owner - CONTAINS PEANUTS." If they STILL steal it and eat it, it is THEIR fault they had the reaction. *shrugs*