Cantaloupe Growers may face 5 Years Probation in Listeria Outbreak

Food Safety News reports that government prosecutors today recommended sentences of five years probation for brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen, owners of the cantaloupe farm tied to one of the deadliest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history. Each of the Jensen brothers previously pleaded guilty in October to six counts of Introducing an Adulterated Food into Interstate Commerce that resulted in the outbreak, which killed more than 30 people and sickened at least 147 with Listeria from contaminated cantaloupes grown at Jensen Farms. The maximum sentence for each of the six counts would have been a year in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The Listeria outbreak in 2011 sickened at least 147 and killed more than 30. Source: Food Poison Journal