Stricter Food Safety Penalites Sought in New Legislation
Companies that knowingly violate food safety standards would face stricter penalties under a new bill introduced Thursday by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The Food Safety Enforcement Act would allow prosecutors to seek prison sentences of up to 10 years for companies who knowingly distribute contaminated food and would make it a felony offense to do so. In a press release, Leahy stated:
“Current statutes do not provide sufficient criminal sanctions for those who knowingly violate our food safety laws. The bill I introduce today would increase sentences for people who put profits above safety by knowingly contaminating the food supply. It makes such offenses felony violations and significantly increases the chances that those who commit them will face jail time, rather than a slap on the wrist, for their criminal conduct.”
The press release cites the 2009 Peanut Corporation of America Salmonella outbreak as an example of a case in which the company may have known the products were unsafe and distributed them anyway. Nine people were killed in that outbreak and hundreds more were sickened. The mother of one of the victims in that outbreak testified at an Agriculture Committee hearing on federal food safety oversight last year at Leahy’s invitation.
The proposed legislation is expected to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Leahy chairs. “The Justice Department must be given the tools it needs to investigate, prosecute, and truly deter crime involving food safety,” Leahy stated. “This bill will be an important step toward making our food supply safer.”
Tags: E. coli Lawsuit, E. coli Prevention, lawsuit
