The Biden administration last Friday announced it was pausing a USDA rule that would allow an increase in the maximum line speed for poultry processing plants up to 175 birds per minute (BPM) in those plants participating in the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS).
In response to the announcement, NCC released the following statement:
“This action by the administration is a standard process that every incoming administration does – issue a temporary regulatory freeze to assess all rulemakings currently under way, review them in light of administration priorities, and then decide whether to move forward. We are hopeful that it will move forward.
“It would be unfortunate for the new administration to ignore three decades of science, data, and court decisions, in a move that would hamstring the U.S. poultry industry on a global scale. This might have been the most deliberative and studied rule that has ever been proposed.
“Line speeds of up to 175bpm have been utilized in the U.S industry for more than two decades, put forward by the Clinton administration. The modernized system has been studied, debated, and reviewed in depth for 25 years to assure its effectiveness in further modernizing chicken inspection while improving food safety and protecting workers.
“While the poultry industry has been safely increasing line speeds over the past 25 years, our injury and illness rate has fallen 86 percent and is now at an all-time low, according to the most recent data from the Department of Labor. In fact, it is now lower than the “all-manufacturing” category for the first time ever. The line speeds in question deal with a part of the plant (evisceration) that is almost entirely automated today.
“There is also established scientific data – reinforced by a new study – demonstrating that evisceration line speeds do not affect food safety.”
For more information about chicken line speeds, visit the National Chicken Council’s FAQ by clicking here.
To watch a short video about chicken line speeds, click here.
