September 16, 2005
Texas has won a court judgment that stops a food distributor from shipping mislabeled infant formula into Mexico. Attorney General Greg Abbott accused Milky Way Trades, now known as Via Lactis, of selling tainted foods that are not fit for human consumption.
The Attorney General sued Yvon Belliard and his business last November for misleading health officials and shipping contaminated infant formula, which is only suitable as animal feed, into Mexico to companies that produce food for human consumption.
Under the judgment, Belliard agreed to stop mislabeling tainted foods for human consumption and to operate as a licensed business in strict accordance with the state's food and drug laws.
'It is unacceptable for any Texas business to evade food purity laws for profit and endanger citizens of another country who are unaware of possible contamination of the product,' said Attorney General Abbott.
Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) declared at the time that the infant formula was so contaminated with flies and dirt that it could only be safely sold as animal feed. Belliard represented later that Milky Way Traders had sold the product as feed. However, a subsequent investigation by that agency and the Attorney General determined that Belliard's employees shipped the product into Mexico at prices that indicated it was being sold possibly as food for infants.
The company's continued commerce in Texas will be conditioned upon Belliard's strict compliance with food distribution laws, including adherence to licensing, package labeling and food expiration dates. If the company continues to sell foods unfit for human consumption, it must clearly label the packages as such.
The company must also pay $7,000 in civil penalties, attorneys' fees to the Attorney General, and investigative costs to the DSHS. However, if the company fails to comply with the food purity laws as outlined in the judgment, the liabilities will increase to $25,000 in civil penalties and $16,000 in attorneys' fees.
