Posted October 21, 2013
The Jensen brothers, growers who are set to plead
guilty to federal criminal charged related the deadly 2011 listeria outbreak,
are suing PrimusLabs, alleging that the food safety auditor gave them bad
advice, according to an article by The Packer, available here.
The lawsuit, filed in Colorado state court, requests
unspecified damages for Eric and Ryan Jensen the owners of the cantaloupe farm.
PrimusLabs is a Santa Maria, California,
food safety auditor.
The third-party food safety audit was conducted just
before the Jensens began harvesting their cantaloupe in 2011 and scored the
farm with 96 out of 100 points.
In a matter of weeks after the audit, people were
infected with listeria. At least 33
people died and more than 140 people were sickened by the outbreak strains of
listeria found on the cantaloupe and in the Jensen’s packing facility.
The Jensen brothers, the first growers to face criminal
charges in relation to a foodborne illness outbreak, recently reached a plea
agreement with the U.S. Attorney on the six counts of introducing adulterated
food into interstate commerce, and aiding and abetting. Both could be sentenced
to up to six years and fined up to $1.5 million. The Jensens are expected to enter their
guilty pleas on Oct. 22, according to a 7 News – Denver article available here.
For background on the criminal case against the
Jensens, a recent post from this blog is available here. For more information on food safety, please
visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
