By JIM RUTLEDGE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s more than 180 poultry slaughter plants have been given the green light to increase chicken-processing speeds up to 175 birds per minute (BPM) from the old limit of 140, the White House announced.

Last January, the USDA denied a petition by the Washington, D.C.-based National Chicken Council (NCC) to remove the line speed limit after the agency had received more than 100,000 public comments, most asking the USDA to reject the increased processing speeds.

Following a directive from the Trump administration late last month, which published new criteria spelling out what it would take to be granted to a waiver for the increased limits, the NCC praised the move and noted each plant must meet stringent regulations to obtain the waiver.

The new directive brought immediate rejection from consumer, animal rights and labor groups, saying the sudden change from the lower limits was a capitulation to big business, strong supporters of the administration.

“In a stunning announcement (published in the Federal Register) with no notice requesting comments from the public, the Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture has declared that it will start a new program to allow chicken plants to increase line speeds, despite increasing evidence that this will endanger vulnerable workers, public health and animal welfare,” said Debbie Berkowitz, program director for worker safety and health with the National Employment Law Project, and a former senior official with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“The USDA had already studied whether to increase poultry line speeds, and it adopted a rule in 2014 with enormous public input, that rejected any line speed increases in order to best protect public and worker health.”

Pilot programs testing the faster speeds have worked fine, the NCC said, citing increased speeds in other countries above the 140 BPM, saying the United States has been losing ground to global competition and would continue if it didn’t change to the increased limits.

“The safety of our food and our employees are our top priorities, and we would never advocate for any policy that would negatively affect either. The safety record of plants operating at 175 BPM, both in the U.S. and in dozens of countries all over the world, has been proven time and again,” said, Thomas Super, a spokesman for the NCC.

 The criteria for waivers have been published by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2PkesVv

Included in the waiver requirements: Each chicken plant must have the latest safety measures in place, including checking for salmonella, and a safety track record for a minimum of 120 days. Facilities must also operate under “good commercial practices” as established by the USDA, meaning chickens are slaughtered in a way that stops their breathing before they are scalded.

According to the FSIS, 20 poultry plants have already been given the authority to operate at the faster speeds because they were part of the government’s pilot program. Five additional plants were approved after the Sept. 28 notice. Two of the largest chicken-processing plants in the U.S. have already been granted several waivers, Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride, according to the USDA.

Neither company responded to inquiries from Farm World seeking comment on the processing speed changes.

The latest statistics by the NCC show U.S. consumers will spend $95 billion in 2018 on chicken products, as consumers average 93.1 pounds per capita.