Man admits urinating on Kellogg's cereal conveyer belt at Tenn. plant

A Tennessee man has admitted to peeing on a Kellogg's cereal conveyer belt at a manufacturing plant in Memphis.

MLive.com reports U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced Tuesday that Gregory Stanton, 49, of Memphis, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with consumer products.

Stanton urinated on a conveyer belt at a Kellogg's plant in 2014. Video of the incident was posted online in 2016, sparking an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and local law enforcement.

"American citizens and consumers rely upon food manufacturers engaged in interstate commerce to provide them with safe and consistent products," Dunavant said in a statement. "Unfortunately, this defendant betrayed that trust by tampering with and tainting food products."

It's unclear why Stanton urinated on the product line or why he filmed and shared the incident online. The Associated Press reports the company and workers union were involved in a labor dispute at the time.

Stanton was indicted in September. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla on Nov. 30.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 28. Stanton faces up to three years in prison with three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

"Maintaining the safety and wholesomeness of the U.S. food supply is a critical priority for the FDA, and the agency will work with food producers to identify steps that can be taken to remediate incidents that may implicate food safety," FDA special agent Robert M. Hiser said in a statement. "Today's announcement should serve as a clear reminder that the FDA will not tolerate illicit tampering activity in our nation's food supply."

According to MLive.com, Kellogg's said in a statement that the company is "pleased that the responsible individual was brought to justice."