Nutella dispute lands US man behind bars

A California man has been sentenced to two years in jail for punching an elderly man at a store in a dispute over Nutella samples.

Derrick Gharabighi, who had been detained since the altercation last September at a Costco warehouse store in Burbank, received the sentence but was immediately released having earned credit for time served.

The 25-year-old was arrested and charged with elder abuse after punching in the face a 78-old-man who had challenged him for taking too many samples of the chocolate-hazelnut spread.

"He takes two, three of them, left one," Sahak Sahakian told local media at the time. "I want to take that one, and he catch my hand. I say, 'What are you doing? Let me eat this one.'"

Police said Sahakian suffered "significant laceration above his left eye and swelling around the same area of his face."

Free samples are a huge attraction at Costco stores throughout the United States. Hungry shoppers can often be seen crowding around a sample table to grab free food and drinks.