Posted January 30, 2014
A federal judge sentenced Eric and Ryan Jensen, owners of the cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly listeria outbreak in 2011, to five years probation, six months home detention, and $150,000 each in restitution fees to victims, according to a Food Safety News article available here.
Before they were sentenced, the brothers read statements apologizing to the victims of the 2011 listeria outbreak which killed 33 people and sickened 147 across 28 states.
Both pled guilty to federal charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. The maximum penalty could have been six years in prison and fines of $1.5 million for each, but Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty “said he chose not impose either so they could continue working to support their families and pay restitution,” according to an article by the Associated Press available here.
Family members of the victims made statements at the hearing, some forgiving and some not.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Pena “took the unusual step of praising the Jensens, saying they have cooperated more fully than any other defendant in his experience.” Pena said the Jensens did not know they were shipping contaminated cantaloupe and called the outbreak “an American tragedy.”
The Jensens have filed a lawsuit against the auditor, Primus Labs, which gave their operation a “superior rating” only a month before the outbreak occurred. Any award of damages from the lawsuit would go to the victims.
Food safety attorney, Bill Marler, represents the families of 24 victims who died in the outbreak. Marler said probation would be adequate and that new regulations now in place will reduce the likelihood of a repeat incident. Marler and other attorneys are also representing victims in litigation against retailers and auditors.
For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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