Shopper, 25, asked for ID to buy TEASPOONS – as shop worker says they could be used as drug paraphernalia

Elinor Zuke told she needed to prove she was 18 to buy £1.19 six-pack of spoons

Heroin addicts put drug in teaspoon to 'cook' it

Age should be irrelevant as heroin is a Class A drug



Teaspoons: Elinor Zuke, 25, who works for trade magazine The Grocer, was told the spoons could be used as 'drugs paraphernalia'

A woman was asked to prove her age when buying a packet of teaspoons - as a shop worker claimed they could be used as drug paraphernalia.

Elinor Zuke, 25, was told by the self-service checkout at Sainsbury's that she needed age verification as she tried to buy a £1.19 pack of spoons.

A shop worker then intervened and said it was because of the risk they could be used for drugs - heroin users 'cook up' the drug in teaspoons.



Heroin is an illegal Class A drug - so it is irrelevant whether someone is over 18 - the spoon should not be used for that purpose anyway.

The maximum sentence for possessing heroin is seven years in prison or an unlimited fine.

The supermarket giant apologised for the blunder at the store in West Green, Crawley, West Sussex, and blamed a fault in their system.

When Ms Zuke, a reporter on trade magazine The Grocer, asked why the purchase had to be verified, she was told that the six-pack of spoons 'could be used as drug paraphernalia.'

Heroin - which comes in powder form - is put in the spoon with water and citric acid and heated with a lighter to rid it of any impurities.

'Drugs paraphernalia': A shop assistant at this Sainsbury's store in West Green, Crawley, West Sussex, said ID was needed because spoons could be useful for taking drugs

Ms Zuke said yesterday: 'I could not understand what the problem was -- when the supervisor said it was because they could be used as drug paraphernalia I was completely shocked.

'I would imagine the vast majority of spoons sold by Sainsbury's are used for nothing more nefarious than stirring a cup of tea. Having to prove I was over 18 to buy them seemed total madness.'

Sainsbury's blamed the mistake on a problem with its stock-keeping units which provide a unique identifier for each product on the shelves.

A problem with the system meant that it asked for identification automatically.

Cooking up: Heroin addicts use teaspoons to heat up heroin over a candle in order to purify it

A spokeswoman said: 'The self-scan system recognised the spoon's SKU as one for a knife. This had now been rectified.



'We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. Our Think 25 policy is designed to ensure age-related products are sold safely.'



In October 2009, Emma Sheppard, 21, was asked for identification when buying spoons in a Tesco store in Evesham, Worcestershire.

She was forced to leave the store without the 57p pack of five spoons because she did not have a passport or driving licence with her.