More TSA Inconsistencies

OK, explain this to me. According to Business Week, passengers who make a purchase at a duty free shop for a prohibited item, such as alcohol, will receive their purchase while on the plane. But if you buy a beverage in the terminal you can’t take it on the plane? If the duty free shop can be trusted to provide unaltered and safe products, why aren’t the other vendors in the terminal trusted as well? I guess the difference is the duty free products are in their custody until we are on the plane whereas the beverage we buy is in our custody. Are they afraid I’m going to somehow substitute an explosive for the beverage? Where would I get the explosive? If they are doing their job, then TSA should be able to keep those substances out of the terminal. Which implies they don’ trust themselves to keep the terminal secure. Isn’t it a bit disconcerting that TSA trusts the duty free stores more than they do their own people?

I just read another article where a TSA spokesperson said that the goods for duty free shops came from a “sterile area” so it was OK (assuming the flight doesn’t go to the UK, then no dice). What if the duty free shops sold toothpaste, deodorant, bottled water, etc.?