Posted October 14, 2013
Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against
Eric Jensen and Ryan Jensen, the two brothers who owned and operated a Colorado
farm tied to the 2011 Listeria cantaloupe outbreak that killed 33 and sickened
147, according to press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
District of Colorado, available here.
The Information charges the brothers with six counts of
introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, and aiding and
abetting. If convicted, each faces up to
one year in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 per charge.
The Jensens set up and maintained a processing center
where cantaloupes were taken from the field and transferred to a conveyor
system for cleaning, cooling, and packaging.
The equipment should have washed the fruit with sufficient antibacterial
solution. In May of 2011, the Jensens
allegedly changed their cantaloupe cleaning system. A system built to clean potatoes was
installed, and was to include a pan in which a chlorine spray would clean bacteria
from the fruit. The chlorine spray,
however, was never used and the Jensens knew that the cantaloupe could be
contaminated with bacteria if not properly washed.
Investigations
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Center for Disease Control (CDC)
determined that the Jensens failed to adequately clean their cantaloupe,
resulting in at least six shipments of cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria
being sent to 28 different states.
U.S. Attorney John Walsh said, “As this case so
tragically reminds us, food processors play a critical role in ensuring that
our food is safe.”
The food industry has been shaken by the recent
criminal charges, according to a Politico article available here. Jim Prevor, a “key voice in the produce
industry,” argued on his blog, The Perishable Pundit,
that the deadly outbreak is a tragedy, not a crime.” Prevor said, “Margins are tight in this
business and it is a lot of work…Participants already run the risk of suffering
crop failures; now they also run the risk of jail. Many will decide this is not where to put
their money or their time.”
Bill Marler, attorney for 25 family members of people
who died from Listeria and 21 sickened who survived, urged prosecutors to
consider charges against the retailers, such as Walmart and Kroger, and the
auditor, Primus, which inspected the facility, in a statement available here. Marler said, “These retailers set the
specifications for the ‘fresh fruits’ and ignored them. These retailers required audits that they
knew full well would generate a glowing inspection, all the while ignoring what
was there to be seen.”
For more information on legal issues involving food
safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website, here.
