The legal and evidential questions
Food-Safety Criminal Investigations. The first task is to separate product, consumer, IP, licensing and criminal issues. The statutory starting point shown on this page is Article 198 (Hazardous products). It may apply to manufacture, import or sale of products hazardous to life or health, or unlawful labelling; representative testing and supply-chain role are central.
Secure representative samples with chain of custody, laboratory methods and results, supplier certificates, production logs, distribution data and the chronology of any warning, withdrawal or recall.
Regulatory non-compliance and crime are different
A product complaint, recall or labelling problem may engage regulatory, civil, IP and criminal routes. Composition, knowledge, supply-chain role, scale and harm must be tested separately.
Questions to answer first
Separate product, consumer, IP, licensing and criminal issues
Preserve representative samples and the complete supply chain
Identify manufacturer, importer, distributor, retailer and manager roles
Test composition, labelling, knowledge, quantity and alleged harm
Evidence that may matter
- Samples, batch and laboratory records
- Labels, packaging and marketing material
- Supplier, customs and distribution files
- Complaints, recalls and safety records
- Technical, medical and accounting expertise
Criminal Code articles to check
Hazardous products
May apply to manufacture, import or sale of products hazardous to life or health, or unlawful labelling; representative testing and supply-chain role are central.
Read full Article 198 text on this pageRead the relevant Criminal Code provisions
The panel below reproduces the available official English wording for convenient reading. Check the current Georgian text and the exact article part before relying on it, because later amendments may not yet appear in translation.
Article 198Manufacturing, import or sale of products hazardous to human life or health+
1. Manufacturing, import or sale of products hazardous to human life or health, or illegal usage of labels on such products, –
shall be punished by a fine or corrective labour for up to three years, by house arrest for a term of six months to two years, or by imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
2. The same act that has endangered human life or health, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
The same act that has caused human’s death or other grave consequences, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
How the process may develop
Primary sources for this guide
Before acting, compare this guide with the current Georgian text and the exact document served in the case. The official English translation may not include the latest amendment.
Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia↗︎Criminal Code of Georgia↗︎Constitution of Georgia↗︎