diff --git a/pykafka/balancedconsumer.py b/pykafka/balancedconsumer.py
index 0e5b78dfe..a6b70b98d 100644
--- a/pykafka/balancedconsumer.py
+++ b/pykafka/balancedconsumer.py
@@ -102,7 +102,8 @@ def __init__(self,
                  use_rdkafka=False,
                  compacted_topic=False,
                  membership_protocol=RangeProtocol,
-                 deserializer=None):
+                 deserializer=None,
+                 reset_offset_on_fetch=True):
         """Create a BalancedConsumer instance
 
         :param topic: The topic this consumer should consume
@@ -213,6 +214,9 @@ def __init__(self,
             fields transformed according to the client code's serialization logic.
             See `pykafka.utils.__init__` for stock implemtations.
         :type deserializer: function
+        :param reset_offset_on_fetch: Whether to update offsets during fetch_offsets.
+               Disable for read-only use cases to prevent side-effects.
+        :type reset_offset_on_fetch: bool
         """
         self._cluster = cluster
         try:
@@ -248,6 +252,7 @@ def __init__(self,
         self._is_compacted_topic = compacted_topic
         self._membership_protocol = membership_protocol
         self._deserializer = deserializer
+        self._reset_offset_on_fetch = reset_offset_on_fetch
 
         if not rdkafka and use_rdkafka:
             raise ImportError("use_rdkafka requires rdkafka to be installed")
@@ -445,7 +450,8 @@ def _get_internal_consumer(self, partitions=None, start=True):
             reset_offset_on_start=reset_offset_on_start,
             auto_start=False,
             compacted_topic=self._is_compacted_topic,
-            deserializer=self._deserializer
+            deserializer=self._deserializer,
+            reset_offset_on_fetch=self._reset_offset_on_fetch
         )
         cns.consumer_id = self._consumer_id
         cns.generation_id = self._generation_id
diff --git a/pykafka/managedbalancedconsumer.py b/pykafka/managedbalancedconsumer.py
index 9f90e593a..eb78e68eb 100644
--- a/pykafka/managedbalancedconsumer.py
+++ b/pykafka/managedbalancedconsumer.py
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ def __init__(self,
                  compacted_topic=True,
                  heartbeat_interval_ms=3000,
                  membership_protocol=RangeProtocol,
-                 deserializer=None):
+                 deserializer=None,
+                 reset_offset_on_fetch=True):
         """Create a ManagedBalancedConsumer instance
 
         :param topic: The topic this consumer should consume
@@ -177,6 +178,9 @@ def __init__(self,
             fields transformed according to the client code's serialization logic.
             See `pykafka.utils.__init__` for stock implemtations.
         :type deserializer: function
+        :param reset_offset_on_fetch: Whether to update offsets during fetch_offsets.
+               Disable for read-only use cases to prevent side-effects.
+        :type reset_offset_on_fetch: bool
         """
 
         self._cluster = cluster
@@ -209,6 +213,7 @@ def __init__(self,
         self._membership_protocol.metadata.topic_names = [self._topic.name]
         self._heartbeat_interval_ms = valid_int(heartbeat_interval_ms)
         self._deserializer = deserializer
+        self._reset_offset_on_fetch = reset_offset_on_fetch
         if use_rdkafka is True:
             raise ImportError("use_rdkafka is not available for {}".format(
                 self.__class__.__name__))
diff --git a/pykafka/simpleconsumer.py b/pykafka/simpleconsumer.py
index 07484e44a..8b4670355 100644
--- a/pykafka/simpleconsumer.py
+++ b/pykafka/simpleconsumer.py
@@ -202,6 +202,7 @@ def __init__(self,
         self._generation_id = -1
         self._consumer_id = b''
         self._deserializer = deserializer
+        self._reset_offset_on_fetch = reset_offset_on_fetch
 
         # incremented for any message arrival from any partition
         # the initial value is 0 (no messages waiting)
@@ -236,7 +237,6 @@ def __init__(self,
         self.partition_cycle = itertools.cycle(self._partitions.values())
 
         self._default_error_handlers = self._build_default_error_handlers()
-        self._reset_offset_on_fetch = reset_offset_on_fetch
 
         if self._auto_start:
             self.start()