Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
by MELISSA CRONIN Add this to the lengthy list of problems created by America’s factory farming complex: poop, hair and toenails on your plate. Over the past few years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been trying out a new, faster way of inspecting the slaughter of hogs, known as the The Hazard Analysis […]
By LINDSAY ABRAMS If you preferred not to know what’s in your ham, bacon and Spam before, you’re really not going to want to know now. The USDA is piloting a new pork inspection program that features sped-up lines and a reduction in government inspectors — and its own inspectors are now speaking out publicly […]
by CHASE PURDY Increased line speeds and fewer federal inspectors are a cause for concern at three Hormel pork processing plants participating in a USDA inspection pilot project, says the Government Accountability Project. Four USDA inspectors have come forward to complain about conditions in those plants. “We went from having seven inspectors assigned to the […]
FIC is launching a campaign to demand that Hormel Foods withdraw from a dangerous pilot model for hog inspection. We are asking the company to show consumers that they are willing to put public health over profit! You may have heard that USDA passed a new inspection model for the poultry industry. The program was […]
By CAREY GILLAM Processing lines at some U.S. hog slaughterhouses are moving too fast for inspectors to adequately address contamination and food safety concerns, according to an advocacy group that says it has obtained affidavits from four government meat inspectors. In the affidavits, released Friday by the Government Accountability Project, a “whistle-blower protection” organization, the […]
(Washington, DC) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is releasing evidence it has gathered from federal meat inspector whistleblowers who currently work at pork processing plants participating in a high-speed inspection pilot program. These whistleblowers voice concerns regarding the program and warn about the potential public health implications if this plan is instituted on […]
Without brave whistleblowers exposing the truth at factory farms and other stops along the food supply, the public would be completely in the dark about the food they eat. Yet Big Ag and the politicians they lobby are still making desperate attempts to silence truth-tellers. Unsurprisingly, anti-whistleblower Ag Gag bills are back again in several […]
In 2014, how many times have you gone grocery shopping or went out to eat at a restaurant? This week, consider the countless workers who grow, harvest, process, label, inspect, and ship food before it ends up on your dinner plate throughout the year. The Food Integrity Campaign is joining the Food Chain Workers Alliance […]
By CHASE PURDY The 15 lawmakers who quizzed the USDA over the effectiveness of its New Poultry Inspection System forgot a few questions, says the Food Integrity Campaign. For example, the whistleblower protection group wants to know: “What does the agency have to say about concerns regarding general spraying of chemicals on all poultry rather […]
Given USDA’s plan to move ahead with its New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS), federal lawmakers have agreed it’s time to hold the USDA accountable for claims that its new system will improve food safety and overall inspection. Today, 15 members of the House of Representatives sent a long list of questions to Secretary of Agriculture […]