HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to falsifying health testing for a meat packing company.
Prosecutors say 60-year-old Debbie Smith, of Ellington, admitted Monday to providing health officials with documents certifying that samples taken from New England Meat Packing in Stafford Springs had tested negative for E. coli.
Prosecutors say those tests were never done.
The company is required to perform one generic E. coli carcass test for every 300 animals slaughtered and to periodically collect ground beef samples for E. coli testing.
The company’s owner, Memet Bequiri, has pleaded guilty to the same charge of making and using a false document, which carries up to five years in prison.
Officials say there have been no illnesses reported by anyone who consumed meat processed by the company.
Smith is set to be sentenced in December.
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