Over the past year, hundreds of you have asked Whistleblower for help. While we can't investigate each tip, we want to share more of what you tell us. In 2009, we started publishing a few tips each week to stimulate online discussion and create ways for our readers to help each other. Unlike our news stories, we have not verified this information. If you have a tip, send it to whistleblower@startribune.com.

Last month, a Minneapolis man stopped at a popular chain restaurant to buy a tuna sandwich before his work shift started. He said he had already eaten half the sandwich, when he bit down on something hard — a thumbtack. He wasn't injured, but he went back to the store to see if there was a bulletin board near the prep area. When he didn't see one, he asked if the employees could try to track where the fish came from. Instead, they gave him coupons.

"Their response has been, 'We're not going to investigate it,'" he said. "They won't even make phone calls to their [tuna] suppliers to find out where this came from."

What should foodmakers do when consumers complain about weird objects in food?