A tutela penal da saúde pública frente à adulteração de bebidas alcoólicas: uma análise da cadeia de responsabilização e do elemento subjetivo do agente

Abstract

The adulteration of alcoholic beverages with methanol constitutes a severe violation of public health and fundamental consumer rights, a phenomenon of growing relevance in the Brazilian criminal legal landscape, evidenced by the cases of intoxication and deaths reported in 2025. This article analyzes the applicable criminal protection against such conduct through three axes: the appropriate criminal legal framework, the subjective element of the offender's conduct, and the criminal liability chain. A legal-dogmatic methodology is adopted, grounded in bibliographic and normative analysis. The conduct falls primarily under Article 272 of the Brazilian Criminal Code, prevailing over the Consumer Defense Code provisions through the principles of specialty and consummation. Regarding the subjective element, the deliberate use of methanol is shown to preclude conscious negligence and instead configure eventual intent (dolo eventual), as the offender acts with indifference to the risk of death or serious injury. This characterization produces a significant procedural consequence: the transfer of jurisdiction to the Jury Court when death results. As to criminal liability, the roles of the adulterator, the corporate manufacturer, and the retailer are individually examined, highlighting normative limitations on the criminal liability of legal entities in crimes against public health. The findings underscore the need for systematic legal interpretation, articulating constitutional, criminal, and consumer law provisions to provide a proportionate response to the violations produced by this practice.