A Wal-Mart shopper denied slipping $35 worth of beef tongue into his trousers, but the telltale tongue told a different story.

DeLand police in Florida say 44-year-old Jason Puckett was charged with misdemeanour theft after a security guard spotted him slipping two packages of tongue into his waistband.

When confronted at the store's exit, he denied stealing them and said he had put them back on a shelf.

But the guard told authorities Puckett then removed the tongue from his pants when he did not think he was being watched and ran away from the shop.

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