The Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing new rules that would allow faster line speeds at pork and poultry processing facilities.
Under proposed rules released Tuesday, young chicken establishments operating under the New Poultry Inspection System would be allowed to process up to 175 birds per minute, while maximum line speeds for turkey establishments operating under the same rules would increase from 55 to 60 birds per minute.
Pork facilities operating under the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System would be allowed to "determine their own line speeds based on their ability to maintain process control.” USDA inspectors would be allowed to reduce line speed rates “at any point in the slaughter process when, in their judgment, there is a loss of process control” or if a carcass-by-carcass inspection cannot properly be performed within that time.
The poultry and swine changes are laid out in two separate rulemakings.
In a press release, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollin said the changes "remove outdated bottlenecks so that we can lower production costs and create greater stability in our food system.”
"By bringing our regulations in line with proven, real-world capabilities, we are supporting a stronger supply chain, giving producers and processors the certainty they need, and helping keep groceries more affordable for every household,” Rollins said in the release.
Under the proposed poultry inspection changes, “maximum line speed” would be defined as "the time it takes for an inspector to effectively perform online carcass inspection procedures." Inspectors could direct establishments to operate at a reduced line speeds if a carcass-by-carcass inspection “cannot be adequately performed within the time available.”
Both rules would do away with inspection requirements requiring poultry and pork processors to submit annual attestations on worker safety programs.
Pork processors are currently subject to maximum line speeds of 1,106 head per hour without a waiver. In 2019, the first Trump Administration attempted to lift that limit, but its rule was challenged by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. In 2021, a federal judge vacated it after concluding the agency failed to properly consider comments it received on its proposal.
Current regulations require young chicken slaughter establishments to operate at maximum speeds of 140 birds per minute.
In the past, the agency has also granted waivers to poultry processors allowing speeds of up to 175 birds per minute, though these waivers were challenged in a 2020 lawsuit brought by UFCW. In 2022, the agency adjusted the waver process to require monthly worker safety data to study the effects of line speeds.
According to the text of the proposed poultry rule, a study released by FSIS last January found that “while 40 percent of workers across all studied establishments reported work-related pain, such pain was not reported more frequently at establishments operating at higher line speeds.” Study results also "showed that musculoskeletal disorder risk was more closely associated with the number of chicken parts handled per minute by an establishment worker than line speed,” it said.
The proposed rules are being welcomed by meat, poultry, and processor groups, but decried by some employee unions.
In a release, Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts applauded the proposal, saying it is “what we hope will be the final action to modernize FSIS rules and procedures to allow for innovation in processing and to increase production.”
"With this long overdue regulatory certainty, our member companies can invest in their operations to continue growth of the processing sector which benefits the consumer with more affordable and nutritious food,” Potts said.
National Chicken Council President Harrison Kircher similarly praised the proposed rule, saying that the current “patchwork approach” to line speeds “has created significant uncertainty for companies and has put our members at a disadvantage globally, where other countries operate at faster speeds.”
"We appreciate the administration’s pro-business approach and for helping to increase the global competitiveness of America’s chicken producers,” he said. "We look forward to providing input as the rulemaking process begins.”
National Pork Producers Council President Duane Stateler said “greater efficiency of increased line speeds provides financial security and more stability for pork producer.”
However, Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, called the changes “a recipe for disaster” and argued that “forcing workers to keep pace with ever-accelerating machinery doesn’t just endanger the people on the line, it also compromises the safety of the food on our tables.”
“The decision to strip away worker safety under the guise of ‘cutting red tape’ is nothing more than a blatant attempt to silence the voices of workers and consumers,” Appelbaum said in a press release.
