By Sarah Light, staff writer

Prior inspections of the Hy-Vee Food Store in Albert Lea from 2000 through 2004 should not be allowed to be used in the upcoming trial determining whether the store mislabeled meat and Chex mix, said the store&8217;s lawyer, Michael Drysdale, during a motion hearing Friday in Freeborn County District Court.

&8220;It would be our view that all those kinds are taking away from the issue at hand,&8221; Drysdale said. &8220;It&8217;s too much noise in the system.&8221;

Drysdale said four previous failed inspections in 2000, 2003 and 2004 should not be allowed to be used during the trial because &8220;the real core of their (the prosecution&8217;s) claim has to do with failed weight readings.&8221; He indicated that the previous inspections dealt mostly with other issues.

These previous inspections also cannot show that the cases at hand were done intentionally, he said.

For example, the prior violation inspections of the bakery were not related to the Chex mix; therefore, they should not be allowed to be used as evidence during the trial.

&8220;As you peel back what&8217;s going on in each of these situations, you&8217;re finding no similarities in people or events with this case,&8221; he said.

The case began when the city of Albert Lea brought charges against Hy-Vee earlier this spring, after a Minnesota Department of Commerce investigation alleged 23 separate incidents of falsely labeled weights of lunch meat and Chex mix at the Albert Lea grocery store.

Hy-Vee pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to court documents released by the city, Tim Sutton, an investigator of the weights and measures division of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, first determined in September of 2004 that several pre-packed items displayed label weights greater than the actual weight of the product.

Sutton notified the store&8217;s manager of the inaccuracies and told him they must be rectified.

He later came back in October of 2005 to weigh items in the service meats, deli and bakery departments and then found 11 cases of inaccurate meat weights and 12 cases of inaccurate Chex mix weights. These are the cases that are being taken into account for the charges.

City Attorney Steve Schwab said he thinks these prior inspections can be used to show intent, knowledge or absence of mistake or accident in the violations.

&8220;How many inspections do you have to fail before it is intent?&8221; he said.

He said he thinks the jury members should be able to hear the whole story &8212; which includes knowledge of the prior inspections &8212; before they make their decision.

&8220;It is all product being sold by the Hy-Vee grocery store, and whether it&8217;s cheese, Chex mix or meats, it all counts,&8221; he said.

Freeborn County District Judge John Chesterman presides in the case.

The pre-trial date for the case is Feb. 2. The trial is slated to begin Feb. 6.