ATLANTA -- CBS Atlanta News learned Wednesday that health officials were forced to use a federal anti-terrorism act to get a south Georgia plant to reveal the results of internal food safety inspections.

Those inspections found salmonella bacteria at the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga. The bacteria has sicked hundreds of people across the country.

The records weren't shared with inspectors. The plant was directly linked to the outbreak.

Meanwhile, a Connecticut lawmaker is calling for a federal probe of possible criminal violations at the plant.

“The company's actions can only be described as reprehensible and criminal," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who oversees FDA funding, said Wednesday. DeLauro said she is asking the Justice Department to determine if the case warrants prosecution.

Wednesday, Georgia lawmakers drafted a plan that would require all food manufacturers to report internal inspections to state officials.

Georgia law does not require plants to reveal results of internal tests, but state Rep. Tom McCall said Wednesday that is a loophole they aim to close soon. The Republican chairs the House Agriculture Committee.

"You do what you've got to do to get the records that you need in a case like this," said Assistant Agriculture Secretary Oscar Garrison.

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin also said Wednesday that his department will focus more on food safety inspections and less on other duties, such as monitoring out-of-date foods. But Garrison said a lack of adequate staff will make the job difficult.

"We do what we can during our food safety inspections with the staff that we've got. We have 60 employees for 16,000 facilities across the state," Garrison said.