Government Files Charges Against Farm Owners in Listeria Outbreak
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DENVER) — The owners of a Colorado farm that caused one of the deadliest food borne illness outbreaks in U.S. history are now facing federal charges.
Eric and Ryan Jensen are brothers who owned and ran Jensen Farms southeast of Denver. Now both are accused of operating a system that failed to clean cantaloupes with a necessary chlorine spray as the fruit came from their fields.
As a result, federal prosecutors and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claim the men sent cantaloupes to stores nationwide tainted with Listeria. The tainted fruit led to the deaths of 33 people. Another 140 people became sick.
Each of the brothers has been charged with six counts of adulteration of a food and aiding and abetting. If convicted, they face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $250,000 per charge.
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