LANSING- With recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses and other food-related incidents, some legislators are beginning to take action.

The recent outbreak of salmonella in Peter Pan and Great Foods peanut butter angered Rep. Kathleen Law, D-Gibraltar - but not because she ate any.

Law recently introduced bills to toughen penalties against the sale of harmful foods.

They would make the sale of "diseased, corrupted, or unwholesome" foods a felony with a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a fine of $5,000.

The violations are currently misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Co-sponsors are Democratic Reps. Gabe Leland of Detroit; Coleman Young of Detroit; Lee Gonzales of Flint Township; and Hoon-Yung Hopgood of Taylor. 

The proposal will target suppliers, not grocers, she said, because food needs to be shipped safely "to stay safe to our grocery stores."

According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bacteria grows fastest in foods kept in temperatures between 40 F and 140 F. Food kept in that range for more than two hours should be thrown away.

The agency also said that some bacteria formed in these temperatures cannot be killed by normal cooking. 

Law said another recent case that pushed her to draft the legislation involved a truck pulled over and containing unrefrigerated meat products.

Jerry Wojtala, deputy director of the food and dairy division of the state's Department of Agriculture, said that it was not an isolated case.

"It happened about 30 times or more last year," said Wojtala.

He said there are new cooperative actions between his department and the State Police to catch more violators.

The effort isn't limited to Michigan.

"We expanded it to three other states," said Wojtala. "We have Ohio and their state police, and then we have Indiana and Illinois in a regional effort."

Wojtala also said that the possibility of increased penalties would be a stronger deterrent.

"From time to time we run into situations where people are trying to skirt the situation and try to take some shortcuts with food that could result in a food safety problem," said Wojtala.   

The bills are the beginning of a larger legislative agenda for reforming the agricultural code, Law said.