Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 7/17/14

The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents USDA food inspectors in poultry plants, is asking for an exception to normal rule making procedures by asking that the final new rules regarding poultry inspection be re-opened to further public comment.

USDA submitted a final version of the rule to the Office of Management and Budget on July 10, seeking final review and approval.

USDA officials have stated that significant changes have been made to the original proposed rule, which was open to public comment. Changes from proposed to final rules are common and are based on those comments. However, since USDA has not revealed the specific changes it made in the final rule OMB is now reviewing, the union — which opposes the new rule — is asking for another chance to comment.  

OMB has 60 days to approve the final rule before it is published in the Federal Register.

Specifically, AFGE is calling on the agencies to publish the revised version of the proposed rule, open it up for a 120-day public comment period, and hold public meetings on it.

"Considering the importance of this rule, stakeholders and the public should be given the opportunity to comment on the 'significant changes' made to the proposed rule before it is finalized," AFGE Legislative and Political Director Beth Moten wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Howard Shelanski, administrator of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

The USDA plan, which was first proposed in January 2012, would remove some federal inspectors from the slaughter line and reassign them to off-line duties aimed at ensuring the company’s food safety interventions are working. Some of the slaughter line activities currently performed by federal inspectors would be reassigned to plant employees.

The original proposal also would allow plants to increase their line speeds up to 175 chicken carcasses per minute from the current 140, though USDA hinted in a statement last week when it sent the final rule to OMB that portion of the rule may have changed.

“Although we do not discuss the specifics of a rule under review, the draft rule has been significantly informed by the feedback we received from our stakeholders, as well as from our interagency partners such as the Department of Labor. Specifically, USDA received numerous comments raising worker safety as a potential side effect of the rule, and it has partnered with the federal agencies responsible for worker safety to address these concerns in the draft final rule," according to the statement.
Opponents had argued that increased line speeds would put worker safety at risk.

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