A Hamilton County meat locker owner is facing fraud and criminal conduct charges for allegedly mislabeling meat products and selling them to a Boone County restaurant.
Forty-six-year-old Wesley Zanker owns the Stanhope Locker. Court records stated he sold 6,894 pounds of cooked ring bologna totaling $49,478.22 in costs to the Whatcha Smoking BBQ in rural Luther.
On 37 separate occasions between October of 2021 through August of 2023, court documents showed he allegedly produced and shipped mislabeled meat products to the restaurant.
Court records showed Zanker admitted to applying required labels to one-half of the shipments and failed to keep required cooking records for pathogen control.
The Iowa Code states that the product was misbranded and adulterated.
Zanker filed a written arraignment and pleaded not guilty to both charges.
He was issued a letter of warning in February, 2020 for the same cause.
A jury trial date has been set for June 17th in Hamilton County District Court.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)