…Whistleblowing provides an important approach in meeting the daunting challenges of food safety in modern society…In recognition of the above, many countries are introducing laws and regulations to encourage and protect whistleblowers from unfair treatment by their employers. Some countries, such as the U.S., even provide whistleblowers with financial incentives in cases of significant economic fraud. Regrettably, these do not apply to other values of society, for example, health, environment, human and animal well-being…In some countries, regulations require that employees should report their observations first internally to their own management and, in case there is no follow-up or satisfactory response, to report their concerns to regulatory authorities. However, a common problem for whistleblowers is that employers often ignore the reports and do not follow up the issue. Instead, they subject the whistleblower to retaliatory measures, such as psychological harassment, transfer or dismissal… To encourage employees to come forward with their observations, laws for protection of whistleblowers should consider the risks and consequences for employees and include effective sanctions against employers who retaliate. Also, governments should provide legal assistance for the employees to help them take their case to the courts of justice, where necessary…To increase profits and create value for shareholders, some companies may cut back on expenditure and investments in food safety, as the added value of such investments is not always visible to consumers and does not constitute a selling point…