Lawyer for Tampering with Food and Drugs Charges

There are strict laws guiding food, drugs, agricultural products, and cosmetics. To avoid breaking these laws, it is essential to know all about them. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the approval, distribution, and use of food, drug, biological product, device, cosmetic, or agricultural products. Violating FDA rules is a threat to public health and safety.

If you are facing a prison term or already serving imprisonment, you need a professional prison advocate and attorney to guide and defend your case.

Call the Zoukis Consulting Group for expert criminal defense in your tampering with food and drugs case.

Federal Food, Drugs, and Agricultural Crimes

Food, drugs, and other products are sensitive items. As a result, there are a lot of things considered a crime surrounding these items. Here are some common food, drugs, cosmetics crimes:

Food Tampering

A common crime is tampering with food. Food tampering is the intentional contamination of food or drugs to harm another person.

Food Adulteration 

It involves using substandard ingredients to reduce production costs. Offenders include foreign substances that are usually fake and that are not included on the product’s label. 

False Labels

Another food crime is selling products that are inappropriate for consumption. Offenders change product labels or adjust manufacture or expiry date. The labels also include ingredients that are not present in the food, drug, or cosmetic product.

Illegal Processing

There are rules guiding food manufacturing. Disobeying these procedures equals illegal processing. It may be in the form of slaughtering animals for meat or using substandard facilities.

False Documents

Using false documents and information about the production process to deceive consumers or regulatory bodies is a big offense.

There are more penalties if the products have led to a casualty such as illness, skin irritations, or death. It is a crime the government takes seriously because of how easily it can affect the entire population.

You need a strong defense for yourself or a family member if you have charges of violations of statutes and regulations dealing with any food, drug, biological product, device, cosmetic, or agricultural product.

The Zoukis Consulting Group has expert food crimes defense attorneys that help with the proper investigation in case of an innocent charge. We can also help build up a good case and provide your best chance of reducing your punishment.

The Role of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The department created the agency to precisely regulate and oversee the safety of food, agricultural products, drugs, cosmetics. Here are the products under the FDA’s supervision:

  • Food
  • Biologics
  • Drugs
  • Medical Devices
  • Veterinary Products
  • Cosmetics
  • Electronic Products that give off radiation.

They achieve this through the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. This act includes titles and sections. The titles include; improving capacity to prevent food safety problems, improving the ability to detect and respond to food safety problems, and improving the safety of imported food

What Is the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)? 

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is a regulatory body under the FDA. The act consists of seven major food laws. FSMA ensures the safety of food production and supply. Breaking any of these rules will affect safety and can lead to legal punishments.

Here are the rules that guide food manufacturers and suppliers.

  • Accredited Third-Party Certification
  • Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food
  • Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)
  • Laboratory Accreditation
  • Food Traceability
  • Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration
  • Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption
  • Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food
  • Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP)

Federal Food Regulations 

The FDA put several actions in place to punish offenders. It ensures compliance with the rules protecting food and drug safety. The extent of punishment depends on the specific regulations violated and the extent of the damage to users.

Here are the FDA regulatory actions to assure compliance:  

  • Warning Letters  
  • Seizure of food, drug, cosmetic products
  • Injunction: A court order that commands the stop of manufacture or distribution of products.
  • Criminal prosecution 
  • Criminal Fines for Food Drug and Cosmetic Act Violations.

Let Us Defend You From Your Tampering with Food and Drugs Charges

There are a lot of federal food and drug protection laws. There are also different bodies set up to enforce these laws. Depending on the severity of the food crimes, you can pay huge fines or suffer imprisonment.

If you have a food crime charge, the next action is consulting an expert criminal defense attorney. It will help if you had legal advice and representation throughout the legal process.

We can help reduce the fines or sentences with well-researched facts and laws guiding fundamental human rights. The Zoukis Consulting Group is always available to provide professional legal services.

Call us today for your initial consultation.