In October the Vermont Department of Health issued two warnings about eating undercooked beef in response to an increase in E. coli O157:H7 cases. The cases were thought to be linked to a single source of ground beef that had been distributed to a few restaurants in Vermont and New York. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's analysis was that the contamination originated from the Vermont Livestock, Slaughter, and Processing Company of Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Laboratory testing of beef samples failed to show the presence of E. coli O157:H7.