Synthaholic
Diamond Member
Admittedly, this is out of an email from Credo, but they have a good reputation for not bullshitting; I've never seen anyone accuse them of distorting the facts. And this would be easy enough to verify. That said:
Three chickens per second.
Under a new plan proposed by USDA, that's how fast inspectors would have to conduct quality control inspections in poultry factories six times the current rate.
Worse, USDA's proposed rules privatize these inspections, letting the industry police itself by replacing highly trained USDA food inspectors with poultry facility employees who have no required training.1
Salmonella in our meat and poultry makes nearly a million people sick every year in the US it's our number one cause of food-borne illness. USDA's new plan could make the problem even worse, and we have just days to stop it.
Tell the USDA: Don't weaken poultry inspection standards!
Food safety groups are opposing the standards and veteran poultry inspectors are calling them "a big step back," and "a very, very bad idea."2
Current rules provide for three inspectors to examine 140 birds per minute. Under the new rules, inspections would speed up to 200 per minute with only one inspector on the line. Even the professionals say that is way too fast.
With far less time to inspect each chicken, unsanitary, defective poultry meat has a higher chance of making it into our supermarkets. And while USDA says it would save less than $30 million per year on poultry inspection costs, it could cost the agency (and us) far more to deal with potential increases in foodborne illness.
Under a new plan proposed by USDA, that's how fast inspectors would have to conduct quality control inspections in poultry factories six times the current rate.
Worse, USDA's proposed rules privatize these inspections, letting the industry police itself by replacing highly trained USDA food inspectors with poultry facility employees who have no required training.1
Salmonella in our meat and poultry makes nearly a million people sick every year in the US it's our number one cause of food-borne illness. USDA's new plan could make the problem even worse, and we have just days to stop it.
Tell the USDA: Don't weaken poultry inspection standards!
Food safety groups are opposing the standards and veteran poultry inspectors are calling them "a big step back," and "a very, very bad idea."2
Current rules provide for three inspectors to examine 140 birds per minute. Under the new rules, inspections would speed up to 200 per minute with only one inspector on the line. Even the professionals say that is way too fast.
With far less time to inspect each chicken, unsanitary, defective poultry meat has a higher chance of making it into our supermarkets. And while USDA says it would save less than $30 million per year on poultry inspection costs, it could cost the agency (and us) far more to deal with potential increases in foodborne illness.