USDA FSIS Proposes to Declare Salmonella an Adulterant in Breaded Stuffed Raw Chicken Products
The Justice Department has a long-record of criminal prosecutions of companies for manufacturing food products under unsanitary conditions. In recent years, DOJ has prosecuted Blue Bell Ice Cream, Chipotle, ConAgra Grocery,...more
Executive Summary: The most important Park doctrine case in over forty years may be heading to the Supreme Court – but not if the federal government has its way. The Responsible Corporate Officer doctrine (“RCO doctrine”),...more
A recent Eighth Circuit decision that two corporate officers must serve jail time for failing to prevent the distribution of contaminated eggs despite the fact that they did not know the eggs were infected reaffirms...more
In an important decision, on July 6, 2016, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the prison sentences imposed on Jack DeCoster, and his son, Peter, under the “responsible corporate officer” doctrine (aka Park doctrine)...more
Over the last ten to twenty years, we have witnessed the expansion of federal criminal prosecution of health and safety matters. Environmental and food and drug regulatory enforcement has been supplemented by aggressive...more
The former CEO of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), has been sentenced to an unprecedented 28 years for his role in the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak linked to the deaths of nine people and more than 700 illnesses. While it...more
Note: This series was prompted by the DOJ’s September 9 “Yates Memo” focusing on increased executive prosecutions and renewed interest by OSHA in criminal actions. We don’t see many employee or consumer safety criminal...more
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett in Sioux City, Iowa, sentenced Austin (Jack) DeCoster and his son Peter to three months in jail for their role in selling contaminated food across state lines. Their company,...more
This space has thoroughly explored the various forms of civil liability food companies face for the mislabeling and/or deceptive marketing of their products. Last week, a set of landmark convictions in a criminal food-safety...more
In another show of force against food processors, federal prosecutors in Colorado recently brought criminal charges against two brothers who owned a cantaloupe farm linked to a 2011 listeria outbreak that killed 33 people....more