[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 113 (Thursday, July 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S6526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. Franken):
  S. 3669. A bill to increase criminal penalties for certain knowing 
violations relating to food that is misbranded or adulterated; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, I am pleased to introduce the Food 
Safety Enforcement Act, legislation that will hold criminals who poison 
our food supply accountable for their crimes. This common sense bill 
increases the sentences that prosecutors can seek for people who 
knowingly violate our food safety laws. If it is passed, those who 
knowingly contaminate our food supply and endanger Americans could 
receive up to 10 years in jail.
  Last year, a mother from Vermont, Gabrielle Meunier, testified before 
the Senate Agriculture Committee about her 7-year-old son, Christopher, 
who became severely ill and was hospitalized for 6 days after he 
developed salmonella poisoning from peanut crackers. Thankfully, 
Christopher recovered, and Mrs. Meunier was able to share her story, 
which highlighted for the Committee and for the Senate improvements 
that are needed in our food safety system. No parent should have to go 
through what Mrs. Meunier experienced. The American people should be 
confident that the food they buy for their families is safe.
  Current statutes do not provide sufficient criminal sanctions for 
those who knowingly violate our food safety laws. The fines and recalls 
that usually result from criminal violations under current law fall 
short in protecting the public from harmful products. Too often, those 
who are willing to endanger our children in pursuit of profits view 
such fines or recalls as just the cost of doing business. In order to 
protect the public and effectively deter this unacceptable conduct, we 
need to make sure that those who knowingly poison the food supply will 
go to jail.
  After hearing Mrs. Meunier's account, I called on the Department of 
Justice to conduct a criminal investigation into the outbreak of 
salmonella that made Christopher and many others so sick. The outbreak 
was traced to the Peanut Corporation of America. The president of that 
company, Stewart Parnell, came before Congress and invoked his right 
against self-incrimination, refusing to answer questions about his role 
in distributing contaminated peanut products. These products have been 
linked to the deaths of nine people and have sickened more than 600 
others. It appears that Parnell knew that peanut products from his 
company had tested positive for deadly salmonella, but rather than 
immediately disposing of the products, he sought ways to sell them 
anyway. The evidence suggests that he knowingly put profit above the 
public's safety.
  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.
  I hope Senators of both parties will act quickly to pass this bill. 
On behalf of Mrs. Meunier and her son, Christopher, as well as many 
like them across the country, we must repair our broken food safety 
system. The Justice Department must be given the tools it needs to 
investigate, prosecute, and truly deter crime involving food safety. 
This bill will be an important step toward making our food supply 
safer.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3669

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Food Safety Enforcement Act 
     of 2010''.

     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 ``Notwithstanding 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 knowingly violates subsection (a), 
     (b), (c), (k), or (v) of section 301 with respect to any food 
     that is misbranded or adulterated shall be fined under title 
     18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 10 
     years, or both.''.
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