Tag: criminal
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Senator Leahy Proposes Jail Time for Food Contaminators
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has introduced legislation that would give federal prosecutors the authority to seek prison sentences up to 10 years for those who “knowingly place contaminated food products into the nation’s food supply.” Explaining his reason for introducing the Food Safety Enhancement Act (S.3669), the senator referred to the Salmonella contamination of peanut…
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Kosher Meatpacking Plant Manager Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison
The former manager of an Iowa-based kosher meatpacking plant that was raided by immigration authorities in 2008 has reportedly been sentenced to 27 years for financial fraud and ordered to pay $27 million in restitution. While the initial case against Sholom Rubashkin involved the hiring of hundreds of illegal immigrant workers, prosecutors apparently changed their…
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Criminal Action Still in Progress Against Kosher Slaughterhouse in Iowa
Some two years after a raid on a Postville, Iowa, kosher slaughterhouse for the employment of hundreds of illegal immigrants, charges of child-labor law violations are apparently about to be tried in state court against former executive Sholom Rubashkin. Prosecutors reportedly dropped many related charges against other individuals on the eve of trial. Rubashkin, who…
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FDA Warns Food and Beverage Companies Their Products May Be Seized If Labeling Claims Continue to Violate the Law
Taking aim at companies that make (i) nutrient content claims on foods and beverages intended for children younger than age 2, (ii) 0 gram trans fat claims on products high in saturated fats, and (iii) health-related claims, such as the treatment or mitigation of disease, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters…
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U.S. Attorney Announces Plea Deal in Tomato Industry Corruption Case
The U.S. Attorney in Sacramento, California, has announced that a former purchasing manager for Safeway Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of wire fraud “in connection with an ongoing federal investigation into various illicit activities in the tomato processing industry.” According to the announcement, Michael Chavez has admitted that “while working at…
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Three Arrested in China for Selling Melamine-Contaminated Milk Powder
According to a press report, three people from the Shaanxi Jinqiao Dairy Co. have been arrested and charged with producing and selling toxic food. They are apparently accused of selling more than five tons of milk powder laced with melamine to a food additive firm, which discovered the contamination. The tainted product was apparently recovered…
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Chinese Honey Maker Pleads Guilty in Conspiracy to Illegally Smuggle Goods
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has brought conspiracy charges against the president of a honey manufacturer from China in an alleged scheme to illegally dump adulterated honey on the U.S. market, and recently announced that the defendant pleaded guilty. The product was apparently shipped through the Philippines and Thailand between 2005 and 2008 to avoid steep…
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Guilty Plea Entered in Melamine-Tainted Pet Food Case
The U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri has announced that a Nevada company and its owners entered guilty pleas in federal court “to distributing a tainted ingredient used to make pet food, which resulted in a nationwide recall of pet food and the death and serious illness of countless pets across the United…