'Suspicious package' in Utah woman's luggage is brewer's yeast

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Hazmat crews and a bomb squad isolated a suspicious package a young woman found in her delayed luggage Wednesday evening and discovered it was brewer's yeast.

The woman had a layover at LaGuardia Airport in New York, and her luggage missed her flight to Salt Lake City International Airport. When she returned to pick up the luggage and went to her home, she discovered an unknown package giving off a nasty odor and called police around 6:45 p.m.

Hazmat crews isolated the package and within two hours confirmed it was a dried, shredded form of brewer's yeast, said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Smith. Brewer's yeast is typically used in beer fermentation.

Officials are unsure how the package ended up in the woman's luggage but have contacted the Transportation Security Administration for further investigation.

— Lana Groves