http://www.foodproductdesign.com/hotnews/pet-food-recall.html

"In an age when every week delivers news of a new recall or warning of a contaminated food product, is this indictment the harbinger of a new zero tolerance for FD&C violations? Will future recall notices be accompanied by announcements of criminal charges against corporations and individuals involved? Perhaps, most importantly, should the hapless individual whose company unwittingly and unknowingly ships a contaminated product fear jail, along with the civil fines, recall costs and lost profits that invariably accompany such incidents? Answers to these questions require taking a closer look at the FD&C, as well as FDA’s role in its enforcement and the history of its application. "


Dear Food Industry,

I sincerely hope it is the "harbinger of new zero tolerance for FD&C violations".

copy of the Indictment:
http://www2.lasvegasnow.com/docs/miller_indictment.pdf


Another Trade worries over the ripples...

http://www.ifcba.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=860

"Do you know what your suppliers do to get their goods exported? Just how far should you go in your questioning of your suppliers practices? Does this case materially change how your due diligence is conducted? Most would probably say, what my supplier does is his responsibility not mine.

Are you as confident of that opinion in light of this indictment?"

A certain Pet food company with an FDA LACF notice ought to read that last one....

Dear Food Industry,

I sincerely hope it is the "harbinger of new zero tolerance for FD&C violations".

Me too Offy....

Didn't ChemNutra know and help in allowing an import that should have been inspected labeled so that it wouldn't be???  Isn't that why they got indicted....how the heck does that fall in the same category as an unknowing shoplifter??  and The pet food industry can not have it both ways---pets are considered "family" when they are trying to sell us stuff but when things go wrong they are nothing more than an "item"....such as a shoplifted one....sorry if I don't make sense---too mad right now.

Off-topic a bit BUT:

Personally, there have been at least 3 times that I have found unpaid-for items left in my shopping cart at the grocery store. I paid for the items the next time I went to that store, but this was truly an accident. One time, I left a package of cheese in the cart and didn't notice that it was still in the cart until I got home. This is not a crime, unless it remains unpaid for the next time you are in the store.

I think you are right that nobody would be prosecuted for such a thing unless intent to could proved.  We've all had something roll to the back of a shopping cart and not noticed.  Certainly doesn't mean one is a criminal.

But isn't it outlandish that the article authors would compare a forgotten pack of cheese or lemon to the events leading up to the pet food poisoning of 2007?  They wish.

http://www.foodproductdesign.com/hotnews/pet-food-recall,p2.html

"Although the indictment of ChemNutra and its owners may be surprising because it does not involve allegations of an intentional or knowing violation, it fits within the category of cases usually chosen by FDA for prosecution."

http://www2.lasvegasnow.com/docs/miller_indictment.pdf

CN Indictment

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud is count twenty seven on page one.

Pages 6-11 detail how Suzhou Textiles did not register with AQSIQ (Chinese food authority), even though it was Chinese law to do so when one exported food, how the Harmonized System code for peptones was used to export the wheat gluten; Sally Miller had extensive experience with the Harmonized System and was familiar with its use.

ChemNutra was aware that the wheat gluten would arrive in the US labeled as peptones from November 2006 onward. Page 14 says that the actual time the conspiracy began is "unknown to the Grand Jury but by no later than on or about April 2006, and continuing through and until at least on or about  April 2007".  The details of the conspiracy to import wheat gluten labeled as peptones is on pages 14-24; there are e-mails as evidence to support the conspiracy counts.

This wasn't a one-time occurrence, where one could assume an error--it was the way the CN wheat gluten entered the US on a regular basis.  When something is an error, you correct it if you haven't anything to hide; when it's by plan or design, you don't change anything because you know you're not being caught at it.  People rob banks until they get caught at it.

Everyone's elated when drug smugglers are apprehended in the act or caught while conspiring to commit this type of crime.  What all parties in the indictment stand accused of is no different. The slant here comes from what those who wrote this editorial do for a living:

"Richard Fama is a member of the food liability practice group of Cozen O’Connor. He represents major food processors, manufacturers and distributors (including Fortune 100 companies) in products liability matters, in addition to advising manufacturers and distributors regarding country of origin labeling issues.

"Russell Wheeler is an associate in the general litigation department of Cozen O’Connor. He has experience in criminal defense and commercial litigation matters, including in the defense of consumer class actions".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutzpah

"In Hebrew, chutzpah is used indignantly, to describe someone who has over-stepped the boundaries of accepted behavior with no shame.

"One example given of the ultimate of chutzpah is: "A boy, having just been convicted of murdering his parents, begs the judge for leniency because he is an orphan.""

These two have the chutzpah market cornered.

Off to the right of that article at their site is a button to add comments if anyone is interested in telling them what you think and feel about this.  I submitted mine, it said it can take 24 hours for the comments to appear. 

http://www.foodproductdesign.com/hotnews/pet-food-recall.html

My Irish temper is off the charts. No wonder so much effort was spent supressing the
actual numbers of dog and cat illnesses and deaths to "16." Accurate counting and reporting
might have subjected pet food manufacturers to much more attention from the criminal
office of the FDA, especially the "customer" who complained about the quality of the
ChemNutra product.

Some of the other wonderful things this law firm has done-

http://www.cozen.com/client_matters.asp?sp=3&d=1

Getting 9/11 Claims Covered from Double Exposure to Single Indemnity

"In a high profile 14-week trial, we won a dispute about the terms of the insurance coverage under which more than 20 insurers wrote their property policies for the World Trade Center complex. We proved that our client, a domestic insurer, bound its policy on a form under which the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was indeed considered as one occurrence, saving the company hundreds of millions in potential double exposure. We also successfully represented our client on appeal to the Second Circuit, in which the Court recently affirmed the jury verdict in favor of our client."

http://www.cozen.com/client_matters.asp?sp=7&d=1

Saving Millions in Carbon Monoxide Claims

"The plaintiffs in a products liability claim involving multiple deaths sought millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages for those deaths which they attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from a heater manufactured by our client. We successfully defended this product manufacturer; the jury found for the defense on all issues.

Expanding Relations in China

"Our business practice extended to the dynamic economy of the People's Republic of China, when our securities lawyers successfully represented investment bankers in a $115 million initial public offering of stock for the Shanghai Century Acquisition Corp. The company was formed to acquire businesses with primary operations in China."