Further deregulation of US poultry inspection would put workers and consumers at risk

The US Department of Agriculture has proposed modifications to its poultry slaughter inspection program which would remove the requirement of processors to test for salmonella or campylobacter and permit line speeds of 175 birds per minute. The US Safe Food Coalition and Worker Health and Safety Coalition (including IUF affiliate UFCW) wrote to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) urging rejection of the proposal. Changes would also permit each plant to decide the level of bruises, feathers, bile or ingesta appropriate for birds going down the line.  The role of federal inspectors is removed and inspection will be done by company employees, with or without training. Recent studies shows up to 72% of workers suffer from serious injury or illness while working in this extremely hazardous industry. Increasing line speeds and removing uniform inspection increases risk for workers and consumers.Read previous story here