RICHMOND — In 2009, co-workers say a cook at a Kentucky State Park in Barren County put food down his pants before serving it to a retired Kentucky State Trooper he did not like. The cook was fired and a lawsuit was filed. It does not appear he was charged criminally.

In 2005, a Nicholas County high school student urinated in a school ice machine. School officials believe more than 30 people consumed the ice before the incident was reported. Criminal charges were slow to come because not only is urine ordinarily sterile, but the temperature of the ice machine likely killed any bacteria. The act was deemed “not a health risk.” What charge do you file for something that’s exceptionally gross, but not a health risk?

In Madison County, around 2000, an employee of a now defunct restaurant was caught pouring floor cleaner — a poison — in gravy intended for the breakfast buffet. A buffet where not only adults, but small children and the elderly were likely to consume it. The result could have been catastrophic. This case resulted in a misdemeanor charge and a short jail stay. The fact no one actually ate the tainted gravy was the main reason the punishment wasn’t more severe.

There are two things about these three cases. First, they represent the tip of the iceberg and secondly, there is no clear cut criminal charge for any of them in Kentucky. There are charges that sort of fit. Charges such as wanton endangerment, assault and others. But, other states have charges that perfectly fit situations like these. Charges such as food adulteration and food poisoning. It’s time for Kentucky to follow suit.

Law enforcement officers are frequent and perhaps the most well chronicled targets of food tampering, but they are not the only ones. If you eat out, there’s a possibility you’ve been a victim of food tampering, even if you never knew it. Short of installing costly video surveillance systems in the food prep area of every restaurant, food tampering is hard to combat. A good first step is the passage of strict criminal food tampering laws with stiff penalties and long term consequences.

I propose making food adulteration — harmless or not — a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail. If you put something, anything, in someone else’s food, you have committed a crime. The more serious offense, food poisoning, would be a Class C Felony, punishable by five to 10 years imprisonment (attempted food poisoning would then be a Class D Felony, which carries one to five years imprisonment). To convict someone of food poisoning or attempted food poisoning, the prosecution would have to prove the poisoning was intentional, not accidental. Every restaurant in Kentucky also would be required to post the offenses and punishments in their food prep areas. Would this alone decrease food tampering? Maybe.

A second element of the new law would forbid restaurants from hiring food handlers previously convicted of food adulteration or food poisoning. Most food service workers move from one job to another over the course of their lives. Loss of future employment would not only serve as an additional deterrent, it would keep some of the individuals most likely to tamper with your food out of kitchens. At present, there is nothing to stop someone fired from one job for tampering with food from moving on to another restaurant and doing the same thing. A person who has shown a lack of regard for the health and safety of others shouldn’t be in the kitchen.

Would the new law provide a cure-all? No. But it would create a law that’s specific and has teeth — something Kentucky currently lacks. Even under the current criminal statutes, a good prosecutor can find a charge to fit instances of food tampering, but it shouldn’t be so murky. Kentucky should have clear cut criminal statutes to address food tampering. The new laws would assist not only law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges, but also restaurant managers and owners, who would have more severe sanctions to combat the actions of rogue employees other than the threat of mere firing.

Food tampering, even when it’s harmless, is disturbing. Food poisoning is beyond disturbing, it’s dangerous. Even those who prepare all their own meals at home (does anyone do that?) may be victims of food tampering during production.

Kentuckians deserve the same protections afforded citizens of other states. It’s time our legislature acted. Until then, our prosecutors will be left to pursue whatever they can and try to make it fit. Not only should a punishment fit the crime, a charge should fit the crime. Strict food tampering laws with severe penalties fit. If you agree, call your state legislator and tell him or her it’s time to act. The person you save from eating something vile or hazardous might be someone you love.

 Wesley Browne is an attorney with Browne Law Office, PSC in Richmond, Kentucky who practices criminal defense, plaintiff’s injury cases and consumer protection. Mr. Browne may be reached through his website www.brownelawoffice.com.