What Article 364 of the Criminal Code punishes
Article 364 punishes the adulteration of food intended for sale, among the offences against public health. It first covers anyone who adulterates food, substances or drinks intended for the food trade with unauthorised additives or agents capable of harming health, providing for an additional disqualification penalty where the offender is the owner or production manager of a food factory. Second, it punishes with the same penalty four conducts related to meat production: administering unauthorised substances, or authorised substances in the wrong dose or for the wrong purpose, to animals intended for human consumption; slaughtering animals known to have received those substances; slaughtering animals that received therapeutic treatment with them; and releasing meat or products for public consumption without observing the mandatory withdrawal periods after treatment.
The provision refers to Article 363 for the penalty, which punishes those who, more generally, endanger consumers' health through food products that fail to meet the requirements set by health laws or regulations.
Penalty
The penalty is that of Article 363: one to four years in prison, a fine of six to twelve months, and special disqualification from a profession, trade, industry or business for three to six years. If the offender is the owner or production manager of a food factory, an additional special disqualification of six to ten years is imposed.
Common scenarios
This offence arises in food fraud where unauthorised colourants, preservatives or additives are added to mass-market products to cut costs or extend shelf life, concealing that manipulation from the consumer; in livestock farms that administer banned hormones or antibiotics, or excessive doses of them, to speed up the growth of animals destined for human consumption; and in slaughterhouses or meat businesses that slaughter animals without observing the required withdrawal periods after veterinary treatment, putting meat containing residues of potentially harmful substances on the market.
Defense strategy
The defense should rely on a rigorous toxicological and food-science expert analysis of the substance used, its actual concentration and its real capacity to cause harm to health, since the offence requires the agent used to be "capable" of causing that harm, which is not always the case with additives carrying only theoretical low risk. It is also worth reviewing whether the conduct truly meets the specific requirements of Article 364 —for example, whether a breach of a withdrawal period was minimal and had no real health impact— or whether, instead, it amounts to an administrative food-safety infringement that does not reach the seriousness required for a crime. Documentary traceability of the production and distribution chain is key to establishing individual responsibility within a complex business structure.