April 5, 2021

The United States federal court has invalidated a rule allowing US swine slaughter plants to operate without line speed limits, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit was filed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and three of its local chapters against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to challenge the 2019 rule, stating that increasing slaughter line speeds will affect worker safety.

The ruling by a Minnesota federal judge is expected to be slammed by the US pork sector as it rebuilds meat supplies following COVID-19 related plant closures last year.

Last year, Seaboard Foods sped up its Guymon, Oklahoma, pork plant, the first company to operate under the new rule. Workers at Seaboard Foods, the second biggest pork producer in the US, said the increased line speeds caused injuries.

The new rule implemented in 2019 permitted pork plants to slaughter without line speed limits, as long as they practice fecal contamination prevention and minimise bacteria. Before the new rule, the limit was 1,106 swine per hour.

Removing the line speeds was part of the USDA's New Swine Inspection System, which allowed pork plants to employ their own inspectors instead of USDA inspectors. The US District Court of Minnesota stayed those rules, giving the new administration 90 days to rewrite the policies.