In the United States, food tampering carries a serious sentence ... up to punishable by death. In Canada , the maximum penalty is ahem,two years or less.
Ron Doering,the Gowlings "Food Law Guy" expounds on our slack law's on his blog at
http://www.gowlings.com/resources/PublicationPDFs/rdoeringMarch2006.pdf
The Canadian Food Inspection agency defines food tampering as,
Food tampering can originate from any number of possible sources and may, at times, appear to be accidental. Often, the motive is unclear but may be related to:
extortion for personal gain
labour-management problems
an attempt to draw attention to a "cause" by obtaining free publicity
revenge, by causing financial damage or discredit to an organization through lost sales or damaged reputation
mischief
reasons known only to the perpetrator
possible terrorist act
Twice, our government has dropped the criminal code reform regarding food tampering.
Our laws need to protect us , not protect the criminal.
Your child or mine could have died from eating tampered Scheider Lunchmate meats.
Two years or less is a travesty !
See story and criminal code definitions below ...
229. Culpable homicide is murder
(a) where the person who causes the death of a human being
(i) means to cause his death, or
(ii) means to cause him bodily harm that he knows is likely to cause his death, and is reckless whether death ensues or not;
(b) where a person, meaning to cause death to a human being or meaning to cause him bodily harm that he knows is likely to cause his death, and being reckless whether death ensues or not, by accident or mistake causes death to another human being, notwithstanding that he does not mean to cause death or bodily harm to that human being; or
(c) where a person, for an unlawful object, does anything that he knows or ought to know is likely to cause death, and thereby causes death to a human being, notwithstanding that he desires to effect his object without causing death or bodily harm to any human being.R.S., c. C-34, s. 212.
VS
COMMON NUISANCE
... / Definition.
180. (1) Every one who commits a common nuisance and thereby
(a) endangers the lives, safety or health of the public, or
(b) causes physical injury to any person,
is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
(2) For the purposes of this section, every one commits a common nuisance who does an unlawful act or fails to discharge a legal duty and thereby
(a) endangers the lives, safety, health, property or comfort of the public; or
(b) obstructs the public in the exercise or enjoyment of any right that is common to all the subjects of Her Majesty in Canada. [R.S., c.C-34, s.176.]
Woman arrested in meat tampering
Vik Kirsch
Mercury Staff
GUELPH
City police arrested a Guelph woman yesterday after sewing needles were discovered last week in Schneiders luncheon meats and wieners at a supermarket on the city's west side.
A 41-year-old woman was arrested yesterday, city police said in a news release last night. Held in custody, she is scheduled to appear in bail court in Guelph today.
Early last week, a customer of the No Frills grocery store on Silvercreek Parkway discovered a needle in a package of Schneiders turkey luncheon meat and returned the package to the grocery store. Store management and investigators from city police and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency then checked almost 340 luncheon meat packages and related meat products in the refrigerator unit where the original tampered product was found.
In all, they discovered 13 sewing needles of various sizes in 12 packages of 11 kinds of luncheon meats and wieners over the next couple of days.
Police noted yesterday nobody was injured as a result of the tampering.
Parent firm Loblaw Companies Limited checked similar products in its stores in its supermarket chains, including Zehrs, within a 25-kilometre radius of the Guelph store, but found no further tampering.
The food inspection agency was called in to determine if other stores had tampered meat products, but found none in the days after the incident.
Loblaw management, food inspection agency officials and city police investigators could not be reached for comment last night.
Mastoora Qezil, 41, is charged with one count of common nuisance.
The police investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call city Const. Kevin King at 519-824-1212, ext. 222.
Anonymous tips can be phone in to Crime Stoppers, at 1-800-222-8477.
vkirsch@guelphmercury.com
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