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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The U.S. poultry industry has been ignoring whistleblower concerns about dangerous chemical use at processing plants, but will it ignore international trading partners? An NPR story last week explained how Europe’s food standards, which instigated banning chlorine treatment on chicken in the 1990s, are impacting U.S. trade negotiations. USDA poultry inspector Sherry Medina has been […]
(Washington, DC) – Today, consumer and worker rights groups filed a joint amicus curiae brief with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of Food & Water Watch v. USDA. The lawsuit challenges the agency’s New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules, a plan modeled after the agency’s controversial pilot […]
It is routine industry practice to use chemicals to reduce pathogens in meat products, and in poultry products particularly. FIC finds, however, that use of these chemicals can cause more harm than good.
America’s meat processing plants are dangerous workplaces, with an injury rate about five times higher than the national average. Fast line speeds, poor lighting, crowded workspaces and dangerous equipment contribute to the unsafe conditions in these facilities. But whistleblowers have shed light on a lesser-known health hazard that plant workers struggle with every day: the heavy use of chemical disinfectants that harm workers, and maybe consumers.