# Have You Ever Seen A Consumer Product With The Tamper Seal Broken? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704 "2021-05-09T14:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/1 "2021-05-09T14:14:50Z")
They’ve been putting tamper-evident seals on consumer products since, I’m guessing, the Tylenol tampering thing in the early 1980s. That’s been 40 years and since then I’ve never once seen a consumer product that showed any evidence of tampering. So either there’s not really a cabal of people out trying to poison me through consumer products, or the tamper-sealing practice has done its job. Have you ever left a product on the shelf (or thrown it away once you got it home) because of evidence of tampering? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/2 "2021-05-09T14:29:03Z")
I think it’s done its job. Making the tampering visible so nobody would use the product takes all the “fun” out of tampering. That has to make it one of the best safety regulations of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/3 "2021-05-09T14:34:32Z")
I once had a box of Animal Crackers that said, “Do not eat if seal is broken.” Sure enough, the giraffe was intact, the rhinoceros was intact, the lion was intact, but the seal … . ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/4 "2021-05-09T14:43:41Z")
Yes, more than once. Most recently with a bottle of Listerine. I was picking up a bunch of stuff at my local Target. Grabbed a bottle of Listerine, and noticed that the seal over the cap was gone (the seal on Listerine bottles is sort of a shrink-wrap over the cap and neck of the bottle, that has to be torn off before the bottle can be opened). I don’t know if this bottle was just one that never got sealed and got past QC and got put in a case and shipped to Target, or if some shopper had decided to freshen their breath and opened a bottle and took a swig. But I passed on that bottle. And I remember a couple of times with other products. Not often, maybe a couple of times, and I’m over 60. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/5 "2021-05-09T14:47:33Z")
I’ve seen boxes that were opened–for example, Little Debbie, Hostess, etc. come in boxes that contain 8-12 “snack pieces,” and the boxes are occasionally opened. Possibly due to rough handling, but who knows. But the internal packages showed no signs of tampering. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/6 "2021-05-09T15:02:55Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > But I passed on that bottle. If I were to find a product with a broken or missing seal, I think I’d take it to the service desk and presumably they’d toss it. (In the case of animal crackers, I’d reject it if I found any broken critters.) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/7 "2021-05-09T15:16:41Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > If I were to find a product with a broken or missing seal, I think I’d take it to the service desk and presumably they’d toss it. I did. I took it somewhere, anyway. I have a vague memory, now that I think about it, that I didn’t take it to the service desk, because there was a line there, but left it with the cashier, or something. It was a while ago. Can’t say I remember exactly what I did with it, but I didn’t just put it back on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/8 "2021-05-09T15:33:08Z")
Yes. I bought a little plastic container of pesto once, and when I took it home and opened it, the plastic seal under the lid had been sliced open. Not torn - a clean slice. Pitched it out and told the store manager about it later. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/9 "2021-05-09T15:36:45Z")
Safety seals now are desired by retail outlets because it helps cut down on theft from opening packages and removing the contents. People always want to know the products haven’t been tampered with, but you can find rat poison that is safety sealed, it’s done to everything including non-consumables. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/10 "2021-05-09T16:46:04Z")
Bought some (store brand) Band-aids the other day. The top flap had a safety seal, but turn it over and the flap on the bottom was seal-less. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/11 "2021-05-09T17:43:21Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Have you ever left a product on the shelf (or thrown it away once you got it home) because of evidence of tampering? When I first started working at my current store it was part of my job to clear such damaged items off the shelf before the customers encountered them. So yes, I’ve seen plenty of stuff with broken tamper-seals. It wasn’t a constant problem but it does happen. > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I don’t know if this bottle was just one that never got sealed and got past QC and got put in a case and shipped to Target, or if some shopper had decided to freshen their breath and opened a bottle and took a swig. Yeah. People do that - take a swig of mouthwash (or other stuff). Take band-aids, or OTC pills, and for awhile we had someone who would still just one eggroll out of a package in the freezer section and leave the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/12 "2021-05-09T22:19:23Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > I once had a box of Animal Crackers that said, “Do not eat if seal is broken.” Sure enough, the giraffe was intact, the rhinoceros was intact, the lion was intact, but the seal … Steven Wright, ladies and gentlemen. Cat litter, the kind in plastic bottles: safety sealed. We need this. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-consumer-product-with-the-tamper-seal-broken/941704/13 "2021-05-10T01:36:05Z")
This is more of an informal poll than a factual question, so let’s punt this over to IMHO (from GQ).