CT Meat Processor Fakes E. coli Testing and Now Faces Five Years in Prison

The owner of a CT meat processing facility is facing five years in prison after falsifying E. coli test results required by USDA for beef carcasses.  According to authorities,"the company must perform one generic E. coli test swab for every 300 animals slaughtered, and to collect ground-beef samples for testing"...which is not a huge burden compared to the sentence he is facing.

Hartford Business
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/feds-ct-meat-packer-faked-e-coli-tests
Feds: CT meat packer faked E. coli tests

August 21, 2019 

By Gregory Seay  

The owner of a Stafford meat processor faces up to five years in prison for faking tests of animal carcasses and ground beef for potentially lethal E-coli bacteria, federal prosecutors say.

Memet “Matt” Beqiri, 32, of Tolland, as part of a plea agreement, waived his right to indictment and entered a guilty plea Tuesday in Hartford federal court to one count of making and using a false document and aiding and abetting, the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s office said.

According to investigators, Baqiri owns and is general manager of New England Meat Packing LLC (NEMP) in the town’s Stafford Springs section. NEMP slaughters, process, transports and sells meat meant for human consumption and must perform one generic E. coli test swab for every 300 animals slaughtered, and to collect ground-beef samples for testing, authorities said.

Baqiri is free on $25,000 bond pending his Nov. 12 sentencing.

A person at NEMP’s office who answered the phone Tuesday said the company had no comment. NEMP’s homepage lists it as an “all in one federally inspected processing facility.”

Baqiri’s conviction comes amid heightened concern among U.S. consumers, growers and food and meat packers and processors about mounting instances of tainted meat, produce and processed foods showing up in the nation’s food chain.

Between Nov. 3, 2016 and Sept. 9, 2017, Beqiri oversaw preparation and submission of the NEMP’s lab-sample report binder containing 36 documents related to 52 separate carcass and and ground-beef samples. 

E. coli bacteria, commonly found in the feces of animals and humans, causes severe gastric distress, including vomiting and diarrhea. In extreme cases, it can lead to organ failure and death.

However, none of those NEMP documents was legitimate, investigators said. Instead, Baqiri told a U.S. Department of Agriculture official that the documents were fraudulent, and that his business did not collect and submit test samples as required because they were “an inconvenience and a nuisance.’’

Investigators said there are no known instances of any consumers falling ill after contacting any meat processed and supplied by NEMP.