Dive Brief:
- William B. Aossey Jr., his son Jalel Aossey, and their company Midamar Corp. have filed joint appeals challenging whether the U.S. Department of Justice has jurisdiction in any of the 94 U.S. district courts for certain types of food safety cases.
- The appellants claim that the Department of Agriculture has sole jurisdiction in those courts for criminal charges involving "false labeling" under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, considered a "conclusive exception." If they win the appeal, the DOJ may face challenges when filing such charges against food companies and executives in the future.
- Aossey Jr. faces criminal convictions related to allegedly mislabeling beef by removing USDA establishment numbers from shipments that came from an unapproved facility. He received a two-year federal prison sentence followed by three years of supervised probation, plus $61,500 in fines and assessments. The appellants seek to have the courts set aside the judgments against them and dismiss any indictments.
Dive Insight:
The appellants' argument hinges on the the conclusion that the Secretary of Agriculture has exclusive jurisdiction "to determine conclusively whether labels for meat or meat products are false or misleading and, if so, to order that labels not be used until modified to eliminate the falsity," according to the appeal. "It leaves no room for parallel criminal proceedings to determine such factual matters, but instead, leaves them to the Secretary for 'conclusive' jurisdiction, subject to judicial review only by the Circuit of Appeals."
Such an argument could hinder the DOJ's authority on bringing criminal charges in certain food safety cases. Last year, the DOJ officially warned that it would crack down on food and beverage companies if their products are contaminated and make people sick. Since, several executives have received prison sentences for their involvement in food safety infractions, including former Peanut Corporation of America CEO Stewart Parnell, who received an unprecedented 28-year prison sentence due to shipping out salmonella-contaminated peanut butter.
However, just how widespread this appeal's impact might be is up for debate. This argument centers around the DOJ's jurisdiction regarding mislabeling cases for meat, which do not make up a significant number of the cases the agency is involved in. For cases involving knowingly shipping contaminated foods or beverages or similar lethal negligence, the DOJ would still have jurisdiction to press charges.