Cantaloupe Farmers Sentenced, No Jail Time

A federal magistrate in Denver, Colorado, has sentenced Eric and Ryan Jensen,
who owned the cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak in 2011,
to five years of probation, with the first six months in home detention, 100
hours of community service each, and the payment of restitution—$150,000
each—with the money awarded to their victims. According to U.S. Attorney
John Walsh, “No sentence of incarceration, restitution or financial penalty
can undo the tragic damage done as a result of the contamination at Jensen
Farms. Today’s sentence serves as a powerful reminder of farmers’ legal and
moral responsibility for ensuring their product is safe.” Details about the
charges to which the brothers pleaded guilty appear in Issue 498 of this
Update. See U.S. Department of Justice News Release, January 28, 2014.

Issue 511