A Longmont man accused of relabeling Gatorade bottles with an image of golfer Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, on one side and the word “Unfaithful” on the other was charged Wednesday with product tampering.
Jason Eric Kay, 38, was arrested by Food and Drug Administration agents on charges of introducing a misbranded product into interstate commerce, altering food labels while the product was for sale and intent to cause serious injury to the business by tainting a consumer product.
The charges together carry a maximum five-year prison term and $450,000 in fines.
According to an FDA affidavit, Kay sent an e-mail to Gatorade’s parent company, PepsiCo, in which he offered to do the labeling scheme as a marketing campaign for the company.
“It is good for Gatorade and it is good for art,” the e-mail reportedly said.
PepsiCo contacted the FDA and complained that 10 one-quart bottles of Tropical-Mango Gatorade were relabeled and placed on shelves at King Soopers and Safeway stores in Erie, Boulder, Longmont and Broomfield.
On Monday, FDA agent Daniel Burke contacted Kay, who admitted changing the labels. He said he considered the result “pop art.”
“He said he felt the issue of Tiger Woods’ alleged infidelity to his wife, Elin, is Tiger Woods’ personal business and added that this act would get people talking about why Gatorade dropped their Tiger Woods ad campaign,” Burke wrote in his affidavit. “He said he felt the company should be happy because he was providing them with positive press.”
Burke also indicated that Kay told him he relabeled and shelved about 67 bottles.
When Burke told Kay that his actions violated federal anti-tampering laws, the artist told the agent, “I didn’t think this was a big deal.”
Kay was expected to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver today.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
