As the oldest of several brothers and sisters, I know the value of keeping my mouth shut. I used to pay my siblings on a regular basis to keep silent about my latest house party when mom was out of town, or the time that my brother and I took her new pick-up truck 4-wheeling in the river in the middle of the night. We had an understanding - but the line has to be drawn when somebody is going to get hurt by the activity.
Thankfully, in terms of food safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law in January by President Obama, establishes private sector whistleblower protections specifically for the food industry.
According to the Huffington Post,
The new law protects workers against retaliation for telling their employers or governmental officials about anything they reasonably believe violates the food safety act and for objecting to performing work they reasonably believe is illegal. The Department of Labor and federal courts can reinstate fired employees and award back pay, interest, attorneys' fees and other damages.The burden of proof favors workers. All workers need to do initially is show their participation in protected activity may have contributed to repercussions. Employers face a heavier burden because they must then show with clear and convincing evidence that the company would have taken the same action even if the worker hadn't been a whistleblower.
