The U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected the National Chicken Council’s petition to let poultry plants speed up their processing lines. Unless they are given a waiver by the department.
Right now, companies can run their chicken evisceration lines at 140 chickens per minute. The council wants that increased to 175.
Evisceration is an automated process that cleans out a chicken’s internal organs.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue spoke in Atlanta on Wednesday. He told WABE worker safety is a top concern with chicken evisceration.
He said the department would consider letting companies increase their speed on an individual basis but first companies must prove they have the ability to do so safely.
“It’s not saying you can’t do that,” Perdue said. “It’s just saying show us you can do it safely both for your employees and our employees and the product being produced and we’ll look favorably upon that.”
Georgia’s Poultry Federation said it was disappointed in the decision by the USDA. They argued slower line speeds will affect the poultry business’s global competitiveness.
Mike Giles, Georgia Poultry Federation president, said faster speeds and safety can coexist.
“Absolutely worker safety is a top priority,” Giles said. “But line speed can be increased and workers can be protected at the same time. So, I think that’s absolutely doable.”
Georgia State Representative Doug Collins pushed for the line speed to be increased. He said in a statement, he was disappointed by the USDA’s decision but that it’s still needed for poultry companies to compete globally.
