For the first time in history, individual decision-makers are facing criminal charges for contaminated food.

It’s been more than eight years since nine people died and more than 700 were sickened from peanut butter processed at Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). Yet the executives held responsible are just now hearing their punishment: In about two weeks, two brothers, former PCA owner Stewart Parnell and broker Michael Parnell, will stand before the court to receive their jail sentences. Legal experts believe they could face 30 years of jail time, which would essentially be a life sentence for the 60-year-old Stewart Parnell.

At the trial, prosecutors filed thousands of pages of court documents showing peanut butter contaminated with salmonella was knowingly shipped and laboratory documents were forged to conceal test results. Federal inspectors reported a leaky roof as well as rat and cockroach infestations in the plant. In court documents reported by the Wall Street Journal, Stewart Parnell wrote the following email: “Shit, just ship it. I cannot afford to loose [sic] another customer.” (His lawyers did not reply to our inquiry.)

For the first time in history, individual-decision makers responsible for selling food contaminated with foodborne bacteria are facing criminal charges that could lead to jail time, and corporations are paying out huge fines. In May 2015, ConAgra agreed to pay $11.2 million, the largest fine ever for a food safety case, after pleading guilty to shipping contaminated Peter Pan peanut butter in 2006 and 2007 that sickened at least 700 people in 47 states. The fines have raised eyebrows, and the threat of a long prison sentence for the Parnells sends a strong message.

via Is Jail Time the Solution to America’s Food Safety Problem? – Eater.