Food Industry Whistleblowers Promised Protection Under New Safety Law

The new (US) federal food safety law has gotten plenty of attention for provisions that aim to protect the public from foodborne illnesses. But a little-noticed section of the law that is supposed to protect workers at food companies who blow the whistle on their employers may — if it is effectively enforced — also prove to be significant for consumers.

The Government Accountability Project (GAP), a watchdog group, sponsored a conference in Washington, D.C., last week to raise awareness of the first-ever private sector whistleblower protections enacted specifically for the food industry. “Whistleblowers are the informational lifeline to warn the public when government-approved food might be a public health hazard,” Tom Devine, the group’s legal director, told the Associated Press. “It occurs frequently because the regulatory system can’t hope to catch all the violations through spot checks.”

President Obama signed the Food Safety and Modernization Act last month. Section 402 of the 242-page law prohibits food companies from firing, or otherwise discriminating against, an employee who provides information to the federal government or a state attorney general about food safety violations.

The law covers only food businesses regulated by the FDA, but GAP is pushing for similar legislation that would protect workers in the meatpacking and poultry industries, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.