Personal Injury Law

Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Passes Increased Criminal Penalties for Selling Misbranded or Adulterated Food - NOT April Fools

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Today as reported by Food Safety News tomorrow (April Fools Day), the Senate Judiciary Committee voted out S. 216, The Food Safety Accountability Act. It is a Bill 'to increase criminal penalties for certain knowing and intentional violations relating to food that is misbranded or adulterated.'

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Safety Account- ability Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

Section 303(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 333(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Any'' and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), any'';

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Not withstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this section, if'' and inserting ‘‘If''; and

(3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(3) Any person who violates subsection (a), (b), (c), or (k) of section 301 with respect to any food— ‘‘(A) knowingly and intentionally to defraud or mislead; and ‘‘(B) with conscious or reckless disregard of a risk of death or serious bodily injury, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.''

Full post as published by Marler Blog on April 01, 2011 (boomark / email).