Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 3/29/19


USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will revoke a waiver allowing Claxton Poultry to run faster line speeds at its chicken plant in Claxton, Ga., following pressure from opponents of the agency’s new policies.

Washington, D.C., advocacy group Food & Water Watch had asked FSIS to pull Claxton’s waiver, allowing it to run 175 birds per minute (bpm), because the plant had failed the agency’s salmonella performance standard.

Under USDA’s New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS), 20 pilot plants, including Claxton, were authorized to run their lines at 175 bpm, but all other participating plants were limited to 140 bpm. Last fall, the agency established criteria that all processors, including the original 20, would have to meet in order to receive a waiver to run at 175 bpm. The criteria included passing its salmonella performance standard at a Category 1 or 2 level. As of Feb. 25, Claxton was in Category 3.

In a letter responding to Food & Water Watch dated March 7, Mindy Brashears, USDA’s deputy undersecretary of food safety, said FSIS notified Claxton on Feb. 8 of its intent to revoke its line speed waiver. The company, she said, responded with a request for a 7-week period to reduce line speeds and adjust live-side operations to minimize potential animal welfare issues. On Feb. 27 the agency then notified Claxton that the agency would revoke its waiver on April 8.

Food & Water Watch is among a number of staunch opponents to the overall NPIS protocol. USDA’s rationale is that moving inspectors off-line to focus more on end-of-line food safety verification is a more efficient and effective means of achieving food safety. But opponents contend that the system gives too much control to processing companies and reduces the extent to which their products are ensured as safe.

Some Congress members also have been similarly critical of the new system and the issue of line speed waivers. Last year, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have asked FSIS to reject the poultry industry’s lobby for faster line speeds. Others, including Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) have publicly supported faster line speeds.

Eighteen of the 20 original NPIS plants that already were running faster line speeds have requested waivers to maintain those speeds. Half of those have been granted, and the rest are still under review. An additional 10 plants not already operating at faster line speeds also asked for waivers. As of October 2018, half of those were approved and four were pending review, according to Politico, citing an FSIS spokesperson.

Claxton Poultry officials could not be immediately reached for comment. The company currently is building a new chicken processing plant in Sylvania, Ga., that it hopes to open in May.

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