The shopper had been checking out at a Woolworths self-serve checkout in Queensland, when they were prompted to put the item aside and wait for a worker to assist them.

The screen read: “B/Beer Zero 355ml requires age verification. Please put item aside. Our attendant will assist you prior to payment.”

The shopper posted a photo of the screen to Reddit, and explained that they’d purchased zero per cent Tanqueray two days prior and wasn’t asked for age verification.

In the comments thread, people shared their opinions on why you should or shouldn’t need to be 18+ to purchase non-alcoholic beer, as well as the other strange items they’d been ID’d for.

“It’s likely because you’re buying something that’s mimicking alcohol,” one commenter wrote.

Another added, “It's been a thing, because zero alcohol is not technically zero. It's closer to 0.0% than 0.1%.”

“Liquor laws require ID checks for alcohol and alcohol like products”, one commenter explained.

A fourth explained, “It the law to prevent kiddies from being conditioned to drinking alcoholic drinks.”

This was mimicked by another commenter, who wrote, “Yes, apparently minors will get the taste of alcohol with non-alcoholic beverages, which will lead them to the real thing.”

One supermarket worker said that “Since the knife laws came in, I have to verify 18+ on people for butter knives and even bottle openers!”

A Woolworths spokesperson explained that it was a requirement at all stores.

“Across all our stores, we require age verification for low-alcoholic drinks and any non-alcoholic drinks which emulate traditional alcoholic beverages,” they told news.com.au.