Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
by Kim Geiger WASHINGTON — As part of President Obama’s push to streamline regulations on businesses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to let chicken slaughterhouses run production lines faster and with fewer federal inspectors, angering food safety advocates and poultry plant workers. Under the proposal, production lines would be allowed to move 25% faster, […]
by Helena Bottemiller Three more leading consumer groups weighed in this week on the debate over a controversial plan to revamp poultry inspection by shifting greater responsibility to companies. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, and Consumers Union each sharply criticized the proposal in their comments filed before the […]
Federal agricultural officials believe they can give poultry industry officials more oversight responsibilities, free up government inspectors to focus on detecting food-borne pathogens and thereby increase consumer food safety, prevent 5,200 illnesses annually, save taxpayer money and lower production costs for the industry by allowing it to increase assembly line speeds. Consumer groups disagree. They […]
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 […]
The I-Team has uncovered more on the growing controversy over meat glue. It’s a product that binds bits and pieces of meat together to look like whole steaks. Now, the ABC7 I-Team looks at how one Midwestern company is helping processors re-make vats of meat they call unsellable into steaks for restaurant tables. This is […]
by Kristen Rasmussen A recent spate of nationwide legislative measures designed to curb undercover recording at farms and other agricultural facilities may potentially restrict reporters’ ability to gather and publish important information about the food industry. Some of the measures would directly prohibit journalists from photographing or recording farm animals and other items and activities […]
by Scott Canon Could fewer slaughterhouse inspectors make for a safer chicken cutlet? Federal officials see a way to modernize poultry plant inspections while reducing the number of government workers needed to look out for potential contamination. They say the changes would overhaul regulations that have been in place since the Eisenhower administration. They contend […]
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 […]
Episode Shows Power of Whistleblower Concerns & Need for Meat Industry Whistleblower Protections (Washington, DC) – The recent media firestorm surrounding “pink slime” – ammoniated beef trimmings produced by Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) – has made the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) think twice about serving the controversial product to America’s schoolchildren. Media reports […]
Water contamination from factory farm waste and agricultural pesticides is a growing problem and usually lacks a media spotlight. This week, however, two separate studies illustrating how big of a problem we face received decent attention. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report paints a bleak picture of the billions of dollars spent around […]