To address the widespread and growing concern of contaminated food causing serious injury and death to individuals throughout the u. s., congress passed a law stating that anyone intentionally distributing contaminated food is subject to criminal prosecution, civil fines, or both. congress included a provision that any company with a corporate food-safety compliance policy approved by the fda would avoid criminal prosecution, but not civil fines. to be approved, the company policy must require the company to report to the u. s. food and drug administration any test results that indicate salmonella is present and consult with that agency before shipping any possibly contaminated food.