An employee at Johnsonville Sausage is accused of placing foreign objects into sausages.
Federal prosecutors said Kiel resident Jonathan Tilman Lane was arrested and appeared in federal court in Milwaukee to face charges of tampering with a consumer product.
A criminal complaints alleges that on two separate occasions this March, Lane placed foreign objects into sausage links where he worked.
Prosecutors said that video surveillance determined that on March 25, Lane placed a cigarette paper in a sausage link and three days later placed a wire connector in a sausage link while the items were on the processing line.
Both times, the items were removed before the sausage links were packaged. According to a representative from Johnsonville, none of the tampered products left the facility.
Prosecutors say that Johnsonville closed down the operation and discarded all of the products that they believe could have been affected.
Lane is charged with two counts of tampering with a consumer product and acting with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily harm and manifesting an extreme disregard to such risk.
Lane faces a maximum of ten years in prison on each count.
