October 24, 2013

Jensens plead guilty, sue inspection firm

Two brothers who owned a Colorado cantaloupe operation linked to a deadly outbreak of listeria have pleaded guilty to six federal misdemeanor charges. But Eric and Ryan Jensen are also on the offensive, filing a suit against Primus Labs for negligence in failing to provide complete information when the firm audited the Jensen Farms operation headquartered in Granada, Colo.

The guilty plea came after the brothers were charged Sept. 26 with six counts of introducing adulterated cantaloupe into interstate commerce, in relation to the 2011 contamination event. The charges allege that the cantaloupe was prepared, packed and held under conditions that rendered it injurious to health.

“The defendants have now admitted that they failed to protect the public from deadly bacteria on their cantaloupe, in violation of the law and critical FDA requirements,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.  “Their actions resulted in tragedy nationwide, and profound economic consequences for an entire industry, and has exposed them to these serious criminal consequences.”

Sentencing for the Jensens is scheduled for January. The brothers face a maximum sentence of one year and a fine of $250,000 for each count.

Court documents state that the defendants “set up and maintained a processing center where cantaloupes were taken from the field and transferred to a conveyor system for cleaning, cooling and packaging. The equipment should have worked in such a way that the cantaloupe would be washed with sufficient antibacterial solutions so that the fruit was cleaned of bacteria in the process.”

In the suit, filed with the Prowers County, Colo., District Court, the Jensens claim that Bio Food Safety, a firm hired by Primus, conducted an audit of the operation’s ranchlands and packinghouse before the listeria outbreak. That audit, conducted on July 25, 2011, gave Jensen Brothers a 96 percent score and a “superior” rating without observing “multiple conditions or practices that were in violation of Primus’s own audit standards applicable to cantaloupe packing houses, industry standards and relevant FDA industry guidelines.”

The suit alleges negligence, breach of contract, negligent hire, negligent misrepresentation and unfair and deceptive trade practices on the part of Primus Labs.

To see the full complaint, visit http://www.hpm.com/pdf/blog/jensenssuit%20against%20primus.pdf.





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