USDA moves to ‘formalize’ faster line speeds in meat-processing plants

Washington — Stating that “extensive research has confirmed no direct link between processing speeds and workplace injuries” at pork- and poultry-processing plants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will “formalize” faster line speeds initially allowed at certain facilities as part of a trial period.

The agency also said it will no longer require plant operators to submit worker safety data, calling it “redundant.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the measures March 17, with USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service indicating in a press release that rulemaking “will begin immediately.”

In January, FSIS completed two separate studies that examined the effects of increased line speeds on poultry- and pork-processing worker safety. The agency concluded that increased line speeds in poultry- and pork-processing plants are not the “leading factor in worker musculoskeletal disorder risk” but combine with other factors to contribute to employees’ overall risk.

FSIS announced the poultry study in July 2022, stating the research would inform future rulemaking related to a poultry-line speed waiver issued under the agency’s New Poultry Inspection System. Participating facilities received a modified waiver permitting their line speeds to increase to 175 birds per minute from the current 140.

In November of that same year, the agency initiated a similar study for pork-processing facilities that allowed certain plants to participate in a trial to operate at speeds exceeding the current maximum line speed of 1,106 hogs an hour. The agency previously had extended to May 15 the waiver and trial.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are cutting unnecessary red tape, empowering businesses to operate more efficiently, and strengthening American agriculture – all while upholding the highest food safety standards,” Rollins said in the release.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, argues in a separate press release that “increased line speeds will hurt workers – it’s not a maybe, it’s a definite – and increased production speeds will jeopardize the health and safety of every American that eats chicken.”

He added: “Worker safety must be a priority, and these facilities cannot operate at these speeds without increased staffing, which cannot happen the way they are constructed now. Issuing waivers to a multi-billion dollar industry with no oversight to ensure it’s done safely and properly is a recipe for disaster.”