PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A New Hampshire man accused of putting razor blades in supermarket pizza dough, leading to a regionwide recall, made his first court appearance Monday since being charged with federal crimes.
Nicholas Mitchell, 39, of Dover, New Hampshire, made a video appearance before a federal magistrate in which he pleaded not guilty to two federal counts of tampering with a consumer product. He waived his right to a detention hearing.
Mitchell was arrested in October 2020 after razor blades were found in pizza dough sold at a Hannaford supermarket in Saco. Product tampering also occurred at Hannaford stores in Sanford, Maine, and Dover, New Hampshire.
The tampering led to a recall of the dough at Hannaford stores in five states. The recall later extended to Shaw’s and Star Markets.
Mitchell is a former employee of It’ll Be Pizza, a Scarborough, Maine, company that makes several brands of dough, including the Portland Pie Co. dough that was allegedly tampered with.
Mitchell was arrested in New Hampshire and extradited to Maine where he has been held since his arrest.
He was indicted on federal charges on Friday. Each of the federal counts carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and penalty of up to $250,000, according to court records.
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