The police are looking for a man that tampered with soup by the salad bar at the Dierbergs Market at 421 Lafayette Center March 28, 2013. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on April 2, 2013 that surveillance video has captured a picture of the man.

Local police are encouraging anyone with information on who this man is to contact them immediately. Luckily there were patrons who saw the man place a “foreign substance” in the soup and alerted store employees.

This incident does bring up the heightened security that is needed in markets, buffets and other open areas that leave food out easily accessible not only to patrons, but pranksters and people with more nefarious motives in mind. This is a public safety issue and part of a business owner’s responsibility is to provide adequate security so patrons are not harmed.

A person who has been injured while in a place of business does have a right to protection from circumstances such as this. Property owners must have proper security and make sure floors and parking lots are maintained so there are no trip and fall accidents experienced by customers.  Visit our website to set up a meeting with our St. Louis premises liability attorneys to talk about any injuries suffered while visiting any public establishment.