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According to the rules finalized Tuesday by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the number of inspectors in pork mills will be reviewed in less time.
the new rule Reduces the number of inspectors required in pork processing plants and also removes a ceiling on the speed inspection lines that may be exercising, which causes concern among groups that the rule will be harmful to public health and worker safety.
"This regulatory change allows us to ensure food safety while eliminating outdated rules and allowing businesses to innovate," Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Lost
George (Sonny) Ervin Perdue5 Republicans who could replace Isakson in the Georgian Senate race The Hill & # 39; s Morning Report – Gillibrand abandons the fall in the number of debates The Democrat sees a golden opportunity to take the seat of the Georgian Senate MORE said in a statement, calling this a modernization of a 50-year-old process.
But a decrease in the number of inspectors could leave the responsibility to corporate staff to detect signs of illness and eliminate inappropriate products, leaving the USDA inspection at the end of the wire .
"The new rule would remove 40% of food safety inspectors from pig slaughterhouses, entrusting their tasks to farmers without the required training, and allow factories to aggressively increase the speed of their already dizzying lines to handle more hogs at the present time – and increase profits, "said Debbie Berkowitz, director of the Occupational Safety and Health Program at the National Employment Law Project and former senior policy advisor for safety and health at work under the Obama administration.
"By removing all the speed limits of slaughtering pigs in an already dangerous industry, the Trump administration is changing the rules against the packing plant workers in our country and sacrificing their health to profit from the narrow interests of the companies. "
The Office of the Inspector General of the USDA has already open a probe determine whether the agency has concealed information and used incorrect worker safety data when evaluating the new hog inspection system.
The United Food and Commercial Workers, who represent 30,000 workers in the country's pork processing plants, agreed with others that the changes would be dangerous for workers.
"Today's USDA rule makes it clear that this administration attaches more importance to corporate profits than to the safety of US food and workers. Increasing the production speed of pork production plants is a foolish commercial gift that would put thousands of workers in danger while they were forced to face impossible demands, "the group said in a statement.
The USDA said the inspectors "will also retain the power to stop or slow down the chain if necessary to ensure food safety and inspection", but believes that a reduction in workforce will save the agency $ 8.7 million.
The agency is considering a similar process for the inspection of beef.
"The implementation of the rule will result in the fox guarding the henhouse. With less government control over the inspection of hog slaughter, large meat processing companies will have the freedom to control themselves and achieve their goal of increasing production speed . There is no doubt: faster line speed + fewer inspections = more food contamination, "writes Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, in a statement.
The new process has been the subject of pilot testing since 1997 and has been well received by the industry.
"We commend the USDA for having put in place a new inspection system that encourages investment in new technologies while ensuring a secure supply of healthy US pork," said the President of the National Council. pork producers, David Herring, in a statement.
Updated at 4:45 pm
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