Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Thus far, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has failed to acknowledge the concerns of USDA poultry inspectors regarding his agency’s proposal to increase line speeds and privatize inspection at processing plants. The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), despite being the public health arm of the agency, seems to be promoting industry profit, as corporations stand […]
Is USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack so desperate to push his poultry inspection plan forward that he’ll try to find evidence supporting it where there is none? Many poultry industry whistleblowers have told FIC that the USDA’s plan, including the increase of already-too-fast line speeds at poultry processing plants, is a threat to public and worker […]
Whistleblower Meat Inspector Gains Support for Online Petition (Washington, DC) – Sherry Medina, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) poultry inspector, has collected more than 70,000 petition signatures via a Change.org petition asking Tyson Foods to stop its excessive use of hazardous chemicals in poultry processing. After 16 years of working as a federal meat […]
by Kimberly Kindy When Jose Navarro landed a job as a federal poultry inspector in 2006, he moved his wife and newborn son to a rural town in Upstate New York near the processing plant, believing it was a steppingstone to a better life. Five years later, Navarro was dead. The 37-year-old’s lungs had bled […]
Affidavits Released as Part of Ongoing Two-Year Investigation; Findings Raise Red Flags with USDA Poultry Plan (Washington, DC) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is releasing evidence it has gathered from federal poultry inspector whistleblowers about chemical use in the industry and its health impacts. GAP is making publicly available affidavits from two […]
A new bill on its way to President Obama’s desk for approval aims to improve protections for whistleblowers working in the federal government, including those in food-related areas such as veterinarians, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors and U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees. On Tuesday, Congress passed the Whislteblower Protection Enhancement Act to help ensure […]
by Audrey Haynes Last month President Obama signed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act into law. The law revamps protections for federal employees who come forward and report misconduct, abuse of authority, or violation of law in their workplaces. These enhancements could be crucial in advancing environmental issues, but only if implemented properly. “Protecting federal employees […]
New Concerns Raised Over Safety of Chicken, Turkey Products (Washington, DC) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is releasing several additional affidavits from federal poultry inspectors/whistleblowers, all of which challenge the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed Modernization of Poultry Inspection System – based on the piloted poultry inspection system known as the HAACP-Based […]
GAP Releases Early Evidence From HIMP Investigation – Shocking Whistleblower Affidavits Detailing Dangers of Poultry Plant Self-Inspection (Washington, DC) – Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is releasing evidence it has gathered from federal poultry inspectors/whistleblowers about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal to fully implement a high-speed poultry production model known as the […]
It doesn’t seem like the Jimmy John’s sandwich chain can escape negative publicity this week. Once again, its raw sprouts have been linked to a foodborne illness outbreak (despite switching from alfalfa to clover sprouts after a Salmonella outbreak a year ago), sickening 12 people in five states with E. coli this time. On top […]