On November 24, the owner of a Connecticut meat processing company was sentenced to two years of probation and a $15,000 fine. The fine was due to the owner and one of his employees falsifying Escherichia coli test results.

The owner of New England Meat Packing in Stafford, Iowa, Memet "Matt" Bequiri, 33, appeared before a federal judge. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to making and using a false document, as well as aiding and abetting. 

Both Beqiri and the company's previous quality control offier, Debbie Smith, produced false test results showing there was no E. coli on swabs taken from 52 goat carcasses and ground beef samples. This occured from November 2016 to September 2017, and none of the samples were submitted to a laboratory.

Source: Big Rapids News