Health & Safety Unit

The Health and Safety Unit (HSU) investigates and prosecutes violations of federal laws designed to protect public health and safety. Cases focus on adulterated, misbranded, or counterfeit food, drugs, and devices; transportation safety; dangerous consumer product defects; and other threats that arise when companies and individuals ignore legal obligations meant to help ensure the safety of the products they distribute to consumers.

Protecting the Food and Drug Supply

The Health and Safety Unit is charged with criminal enforcement of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Unit prosecutes a wide range of criminal offenses under the FDCA involving food, prescription medications and other drugs, counterfeit pills, medical devices, dietary supplements, and tobacco. The Unit's criminal enforcement efforts are a key part of the infrastructure protecting the safety of the country’s food and drug supply chain. HSU works closely with the Food and Drug Administration and other federal partners to pursue criminal actions against companies and individuals who fail to maintain sanitary facilities, distribute adulterated or misbranded food or drug products, conceal safety-related information from FDA, or make significant misrepresentations to the public.

Enforcing Consumer Product Safety Laws

The Health and Safety Unit brings criminal enforcement actions under the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, and related statutes. These prosecutions involve dangerous products and the knowing failure by companies or individuals to report defects or hazards that present an unreasonable risk of death or injury to consumers. The Unit also works with the Department of Transportation and DOT's National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to bring criminal actions against companies and individuals who conceal dangerous vehicle defects that could cause serious injuries to drivers, passengers, or others on the road.