Haiku resident Paul Toshio Matsunaga pleaded guilty to a federal charge of tampering with consumer products in connection with the April 14, 2005, incident, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Osborne Jr.

Matsunaga was working in his official capacity as an inspector at Uncle Louie's during the incident, Osborne said.

The federal prosecutor said that Matsunaga, in providing the court a factual basis for his plea Tuesday, indicated "he was unhappy" about not being notified that Uncle Louie's employees would be manufacturing a product the night before. Because he didn't know about the night work, Matsunaga missed out on working overtime hours.

Matsunaga could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to documents filed May 17 in U.S. District Court, Matsunaga tainted a vat of flank steak while it was marinating to make pipikaula, a dried beef dish.

Matsunaga's use of the bleach was discovered because it had a "very distinct and strong odor," Osborne said, and employees working on making the pipikaula smelled the toxic substance and saw the vat of meat shipped from New Zealand was badly discolored.

Employees saw Matsunaga in an adjacent room, he said.

Sentencing for Matsunaga was scheduled for Sept. 10 before District Judge Susan Oki Mollway. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special court assessment and an order to pay restitution of as much as $900. Osborne said Matsunaga also could be ordered to a one-year period of supervised release after he completes his time behind bars.

An official at Uncle Louie's declined comment Tuesday.