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Farm Responsible For Deadly Listeria Outbreak Fined For Unsafe Migrant Housing

  • Spence Cooper
  • January 23, 2012

Jensen Farms, the Colorado cantaloupe grower responsible for a listeria outbreak that killed 30 people last year, has been fined by the U.S. Department of Labor for failing to provide safe migrant worker housing.

According to the Department of Labor, Eric Jensen, owner of Jensen Farms, rented migrant workers unsanitary, overcrowded rooms at a motel he owns, where inspectors said many rooms lacked beds, laundry facilities and smoke detectors. Jensen faces $4,250 in civil penalties.

The listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupes grown at Jensen Farms killed 30 people, sickened 146 in 26 states, and is now considered the deadliest known outbreak of foodborne illness in the U.S. in more than 25 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One woman suffered a miscarriage after eating the tainted cantaloupe.

“Profiting at the expense of vulnerable workers is not just inhumane, it’s illegal,” said Chad Frasier, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Denver.

Farm Responsible For Deadly Listeria Outbreak Fined For Unsafe Migrant HousingJensen claims he had no idea the people who rented the rooms for a month were migrant workers, and insists the fine is unwarranted. “It was closed at the time, and they wanted to rent it,” Jensen said. He added that he didn’t know he had to verify their employment status.

USAToday reports Jensen faces multiple lawsuits related to the outbreak, and has refused to answer questions about the suits.

According to an FDA probe, the Jensen Farms cantaloupes blamed for the listeria outbreak may have become contaminated in the farm’s own packing facilities. Jensen Farms received a top score of 96% from Primus Labs, a firm auditing the plant’s sanitation practices six days before the first person fell ill.

USAToday points out the rating has raised questions about the credibility of so-called third-party audits, a practice used increasingly by food sellers who hire auditing companies.

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