WASHINGTON, DC – The Meat Institute today said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Brooke Rollins acted swiftly to extend waivers allowing pork and poultry processors to operate at higher line speeds allowing for efficiency and providing certainty to the entire meat and poultry supply chain. For more on the announcement go here.

“Secretary Rollins has proven she is serious about eliminating bureaucratic hurdles at USDA to ensure efficient production of safe meat and poultry products,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “We appreciate her wasting no time to support innovation in our industry. We look forward to working with the Secretary and our livestock and poultry suppliers to provide certainty to the supply chain and to allow additional companies the opportunity to utilize this system.”

FSIS will begin rulemaking to formalize line speed allowances.

Background on Pork Slaughter Line Speeds:

Line speed in swine slaughter facilities varies due to staffing variations, the ability to maintain worker safety and food safety. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors have the ability to slow or stop the line as part of their regulatory authority.

In September of 2019, FSIS issued its final New Swine Inspection System rule, establishing a voluntary modernized inspection system. NSIS allows FSIS inspectors to focus attention on verifying food safety and animal welfare requirements, while providing flexibility for food safety innovation. The NSIS rule is based on a pilot program FSIS initiated more than 25 years ago, giving the agency a wealth of data and a deep knowledge base from which to establish NSIS.

Under NSIS, plant employees in swine slaughter establishments conduct manual sorting activities to remove defects in carcasses and parts prior to FSIS inspection, making inspection more efficient. Critically, FSIS inspects 100% of live animals prior to slaughter and all carcasses after slaughter in all regulated facilities.

Due to a court decision regarding the Administrative Procedures Act, allowances for faster line speeds under NSIS were vacated and participating establishments were required to operate at slower speeds as of June 30, 2021. In November 2021, FSIS invited NSIS establishments to participate in a time-limited trial to operate at increased line speeds to gather data for rulemaking. FSIS contracted with the University of California, San Francisco to conduct a study released on January 10, 2025.

The study found no statistically significant associations between line speeds and increased worker safety risk.

About the Meat Institute

The Meat Institute represents the full community of people and companies who make the majority of meat American families rely on every day. The Meat Institute’s hands-on regulatory and technical expertise, proactive advocacy, unique convening power, collaboration within and beyond animal agriculture, and sector-leading continuous improvement initiatives drive relationships and resources that ensure meat continues to be a vital, trusted pillar of healthy diets and thriving communities for generations to come. To learn more, visit: MeatInstitute.org.