The Poultry Rule

OUR POSITION: CSS opposes the poultry rule due to concerns about food safety as well as worker health and safety.

Food safety and worker safety advocates have been campaigning against a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to “modernize” poultry inspection – by taking federal food safety inspectors off the line and replacing them with processing company employees.

It’s worrying for food safety because the company inspectors would have to visually inspect about three chickens per second; processing plants that have tried the system under a pilot program have produced birds contaminated with feathers, bile and feces.

It’s worrying for worker safety because poultry processing is already an extremely dangerous job, and the proposed rule would allow companies to speed up the lines.

And it’s alarming for animal welfare, as line speedup would lead to rougher treatment of birds, including fractures and broken bones, along with accidental death including entering scalding tanks alive.

 

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CSS Resources

Groups Oppose Budget Cuts for USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service
Letter to Members: January 6, 2014

Groups Oppose Poultry Rule
Letter to the Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture: September 20, 2012

Groups Urge USDA to Withdraw Poultry Slaughter Proposal Due to Food Safety, Worker Safety Concerns
Press Release: September 20, 2012

 

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Resources from Members and Affiliates

The Promise and Problems of HACCP: A Review of USDA’s Approach to Meat and Poultry Safety
Consumer Federation of America: April 28, 2015

Consumer and Worker Rights Groups File Amicus in Opposition of New Poultry Inspection System
Food Integrity Campaign: October 3, 2014

Oh No You Didn’t! CDC Calls Out USDA for Misinterpreting Poultry Plant Study
Food Integrity Campaign: April 10, 2014

Letter from Members of Congress Opposing the Poultry Rule
Letter to the Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture: March 17, 2014

Congressional Leaders, Poultry Workers Outraged at Harmful USDA Proposal, Urge Administration to Act
National Council of La Raza (NCLR): February 27, 2014

Tester Demands FDA Rules Protect Family Farmers, Small Producers
Press Release: November 15, 2013

Secretary Vilsack, Don’t Count Your Chickens
National Council of La Raza (NCLR): April 16, 2013

Unsafe at These Speeds
Southern Poverty Law Center: March 2013

Letter from Members of Congress Opposing the Poultry Rule
Letter to the Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture: December 6, 2012

Proposed USDA Rule Change Puts Profits Before Worker Safety
Southern Policy Law Center: May 22, 2012

The Pander Games: Big Ag, Hispanic Workers, and the Rush to Deregulate
Center for Progressive Reform: May 8, 2012

Latinos in the Poultry Processing Industry
National Council of La Raza: May 2012

Cutting Costs and Courting Contamination: What Food Safety Budget Cuts Mean for Public Safety
Center for Effective Government: April 17, 2012

The Age of Greed: Regulatory Look-Back in Action — Speeding Up the Line and Endangering Workers at Poultry Processing Plants
Center for Progressive Reform: April 6, 2012

Privatized Meat Inspection Experiment Jeopardizes Food Safety
Food & Water Watch: March 7, 2012

The Proposed Poultry Slaughter “Modernization” Rule: FAQs
UFCW: February 2012

Voices of Federal Food Safety Scientists and Inspectors
Union of Concerned Scientists: September 2010

 

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Independent Reports

Evaluating Musculoskeletal Disorders and Traumatic Injuries in a Poultry Processing Plant
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health: March 27, 2014

Upper Body Musculoskeletal Symptoms of Latino Poultry Processing Workers and a Comparison Group of Latino Manual Workers
American Journal of Industrial Medicine: July 2012

 

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Media Coverage

How the USDA’s New ‘Chicken Rule’ Could Change What You Eat, and How It’s Inspected
PBS: September 6, 2014

68 House Members Want Poultry Inspection Rule Withdrawn
Politico: March 18, 2014

Congress Members Protest USDA’s Proposed Poultry Inspection System
The Washington Post: March 17, 2014

Congress Members Tell USDA Not to Speed Up Poultry Lines
The Huffington Post: March 17, 2014

Lawmakers: Poultry Regs Threaten Food Safety
The Hill: March 17, 2014

A Chicken Fight: Nebraska Group Opposes Rule Aimed at Boosting Poultry Plants’ Processing Speeds
The Omaha World-Herald: February 28, 2014

Poultry Industry, Workers Take Fight to Capitol Hill Over Proposal to Speed Processing Lines
The Washington Post: February 27, 2014

NWA Poultry Workers in Washington D.C.
KFSM/KXNW 5 News: February 27, 2014

USDA Plan to Speed Up Poultry-Processing Lines Could Increase Risk of Bird Abuse
The Washington Post: October 29, 2013

USDA Personnel Oppose New Poultry Inspection System
World Poultry: May 6, 2013

Letter From The Editor: Poultry Politics
Food Safety News: May 5, 2013