diff --git a/includes/theme.inc b/includes/theme.inc
index c9d80584b5..2d63ee26a6 100644
--- a/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/includes/theme.inc
@@ -1950,6 +1950,9 @@ function theme_breadcrumb($variables) {
  *     @endcode
  *   - footer: An array of table rows which will be printed within a <tfoot>
  *     tag, in the same format as the rows element (see above).
+ *     The structure is the same the one defined for the "rows" key except
+ *     that the no_stripping boolean has no effect, there is no rows stripping
+ *     for the table footer.
  *   - attributes: An array of HTML attributes to apply to the table tag.
  *   - caption: A localized string to use for the <caption> tag.
  *   - colgroups: An array of column groups. Each element of the array can be
@@ -2112,14 +2115,14 @@ function theme_table(array $variables) {
     $output .= "<" . $tag . ">\n";
     $flip = array('even' => 'odd', 'odd' => 'even');
     $class = 'even';
-    $no_striping = $tag === 'tfoot';
+    $default_no_striping = ($tag === 'tfoot');
 
     foreach ($content as $number => $row) {
       // Check if we're dealing with a simple or complex row.
       if (isset($row['data'])) {
         $cells = $row['data'];
         $no_striping = isset($row['no_striping']) ?
-          $row['no_striping'] : $no_striping;
+          $row['no_striping'] : $default_no_striping;
 
         // Set the attributes array and exclude 'data' and 'no_striping'.
         $attributes = $row;
@@ -2129,7 +2132,7 @@ function theme_table(array $variables) {
       else {
         $cells = $row;
         $attributes = array();
-        $no_striping = FALSE;
+        $no_striping = $default_no_striping;
       }
 
       if (!empty($cells)) {