Product tampering

DEFINITION: Adulteration of consumer products with foreign substances that may cause serious harm, even risk of death, to those who use the products.

SIGNIFICANCE: The absence of witnesses and the potential for broad public harm make product tampering one of the most challenging types of crimes for law enforcement agencies to investigate. In such cases, it is important for authorities to determine quickly the extent of the tampering and the danger to the public at the same time they are working to identify suspects and remove any tainted products from stores.

Product tampering first became a public concern in the United States in September 1982, when someone deliberately poisoned Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules with cyanide, leading to seven deaths in Chicago, Illinois. Subsequent laws, including the Federal Anti-Tampering Act of 1983, made product tampering a federal crime, with the later amendments (including those in 1994) refining penalty provisions. Because these kinds of crimes typically have few witnesses, law enforcement investigators must rely on physical evidence in tracking down suspects. They also face the task of determining where the tampering occurred. Most cases of product tampering involve foods and over-the-counter medicines that can be easily accessed at supermarkets or drugstores, though federal law applies to all consumer products. After the deaths, Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Tylenol, worked with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop tamper-proof (or tamper-evident) packaging.

The motives for product tampering vary. Some perpetrators are motivated by the desire to create panic by killing members of the public, whereas others use tampering as a means of extortion, threatening to poison products unless particular demands are met. Still others use product tampering to commit murder for gain, such as to collect a victim’s life insurance.

Initial Response

Under the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) and the antitampering legislation passed in the early 1980s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is authorized to investigate all cases of product tampering affecting FDA-regulated products under the Federal Anti-Tampering Act in the United States, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) being involved in cases of criminal tampering of regulated products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) administers standards, mandatory regulations, and bans for large classes of consumer products. When a case of tampering is reported, federal investigators descend on the retail outlet where the adulterated product was purchased or discovered to collect physical evidence.

All containers of suspect products are handled carefully to protect fingerprint evidence, because often those who commit this type of crime purchase certain products, take them to a private place to adulterate them, and then manage to get the products returned to the retail shelves. To protect the public, investigators usually remove all similar products from relevant locations and have them tested for contamination.

Narrowing the Investigation

Because product tampering can occur at the manufacturing, distribution, or retail level, investigators must examine each possibility. They must determine whether a case of tampering is limited to a single package, to packages at a particular retail outlet, or to an entire brand across an extensive geographic area.

Investigators may be aided by the footage from surveillance cameras at retail outlets. Given that it is known that some perpetrators purchase products, tamper with them, and then return them to the shelves, video evidence that a person has made repeated visits to a store and has been in the vicinity of the adulterated product can point to that person as a suspect. Computerized tracking of products sold in stores can also provide valuable information to investigators regarding when a tampered product was purchased and if it was returned to a store.

In 1993, false claims were made that syringes were being found in cans of Pepsi-Cola in Seattle, Washington, and then in other cities across the United States. Photos from a surveillance camera in a supermarket revealed the first incident to be a hoax; a woman could be seen opening a Pepsi can and slipping a syringe into it. She later claimed that she discovered the needle after she purchased the soft drink. This evidence tipped off investigators that other claims of tampering involving Pepsi cans might also be hoaxes.

Psychological profiling or behavioral analysis is another forensic tool used while investigating product tampering. Such profiling can narrow the probable range of suspects according to age, gender, socioeconomic status, and educational background. The level of knowledge and chemical sophistication needed to succeed in the type of contamination committed can also add to a profile.

What and When

Investigators must quickly determine what foreign substance was added to an adulterated product so that they can locate possible sources of the poison and attempt to track down any persons who recently purchased it. During the 1991 investigation of the poisoning of Sudafed capsules in Washington State, an incident that resulted in the deaths of two people, investigators identified the type of cyanide used to contaminate the pills. They then were able to trace the cyanide back to a distributor and then to the husband of one of the victims, who had purchased the cyanide in order to place it in his wife’s medication.

Another crucial part of an investigation of product tampering is the determination of when the adulterating material was added to the product. Generally, chemical contaminants that are added to a product will change as they interact with the chemicals in the product. The rate of decomposition of the contaminant within the product thus provides clues regarding when the contaminant was added. Laboratory tests using spectroscopy can identify decomposition and narrow the period during which the product was poisoned.

When contaminants are physical rather than chemical in nature, such as syringes in the Pepsi tampering hoaxes, investigators examine that evidence to find differences and similarities in the types of contaminants. In the Pepsi hoaxes, investigators discovered that the syringes were of different types and sizes, suggesting that the tampering was not committed by a single individual.

Bibliography

Byrd, Mike. Crime Scene Evidence: A Guide to the Recovery and Collection of Physical Evidence. Staggs, 2001.

Fisher, Barry A. J. Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation. 7th ed., CRC Press, 2004.

“Food Tampering, an Extra Ounce of Caution.” U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 5 Mar. 2024, www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-tampering-extra-ounce-caution. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

Govinfo. 18 U.S.C. § 1365: Tampering with Consumer Products. United States Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 65, U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title18/pdf/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap65-sec1365.pdf. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

Shidler, Gracie J., and Joseph L. Fink. “Changes in Law Result from OTC Drug Product Tampering.” Pharmacy Times, vol. 88, no. 5, May 2022, www.pharmacytimes.com/view/changes-in-the-law-result-from-otc-drug-product-tampering. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Regulations, Laws & Standards.” CPSC.gov, United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, www.cpsc.gov/Regulations-Laws--Standards. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

United States Department of Justice. “1447. Tampering With Consumer Products – Investigative Jurisdiction.” Justice.gov Archives: Criminal Resource Manual, United States Department of Justice, www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1447-tampering-consumer-products-investigative-jurisdiction. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

Wiley & Sons, 2008. Stigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys. 2nd ed., Humana Press, 2007.