A resident of Ontario is cautioning other customers about the province's strict rules for alcohol sales after a grocery store cashier told them that they couldn't purchase their adult beverages because their toddler, sitting in the cart, had technically touched them.

The embarrassed shopper, who took to Reddit to share their story on Sunday, said that their 23-month-old son was sitting in the cart seat, fidgeting with various items.

"We placed all the groceries in the bottom of the cart because he will touch and throw things out, picked up a case of cider and then [he] touched the box (too heavy for him to throw) and the cashier told me they can't sell it," they wrote.

"I understand if they were of an age [that] they might drink it, but an obvious toddler?"

While all Ontarians should be well aware of the province's legal drinking age and the fact that it is illegal to buy for minors, some may not know that while browsing for booze, they must ensure that if they're with anyone underage, that individual does not directly handle the product at any point.

As the LCBO Press Office told blogTO this week, "It is LCBO policy that while those under 19 are permitted in the store, they are not allowed to purchase or handle products."

Ensuring that these mandates are followed is up to the discretion of the staff member cashing someone out, who has the power to "determine if a customer is in breach of the policy and therefore deny a sale to the customer...  LCBO retail employees demonstrate their vigilance in enforcing this policy and take it very seriously."

Just got denied sale of Alcohol at grocery store
by u/TraviAdpet in ontario

And, when it comes to alcoholic drinks at supermarkets, retail owners can establish their own additional rules "to ensure that beer/wine is sold responsibly, in order to comply with all regulatory requirements," according to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

At the very least, the rules governing the sale of liquor in grocery stores "require the grocer to ensure that an ID of a person who appears to be under 19 is inspected before liquor is sold to the person," a spokesperson for the AGCO said.

The Liquor Licence and Control Act states that no person shall knowingly sell or supply liquor to a person under 19 years of age, or sell or supply liquor to a person who appears to be under 19 years of age. Also, that no person under 19 years of age shall have, consume, attempt to purchase, purchase or otherwise obtain liquor.

Parts of the act do not apply to parents serving their children in the privacy of their own homes.

As noted in one of the hundreds of comments on the Reddit post, though the employee was in this case perhaps taking the rule to the extreme, "when it comes to things like alcohol, a lot of people don't want to mess around."