USDA withheld information from state in E. coli investigation

Federal officials refused to tell Minnesota authorities which of two beef plants were linked to a fatal E. coli outbreak last summer, according to a state report.

One woman died and at least 17 people were sickened from the E. coli outbreak in the Longville area, after eating ground beef.

One woman died and at least 17 people were sickened from the E. coli outbreak in the Longville area, after eating ground beef.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health report, state officials narrowed the source of the E. coli to two processing plants - which they identified only as "Plant A" and "Plant B."

The report said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had reported that beef trimmings from a processing plant yielded the same genetic material as that in the E. coli outbreak. But the USDA wouldn't identify that plant, saying it wasn't public information. That made it impossible for state authorities to specify the source of the outbreak.

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