U.S. mulls waivers for pork plants forced to slow down -Vilsack

Seaboard

07/10/2021 23:28

By Tom Polansek
    CHICAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of
Agriculture is working on a proposal for a waiver system for hog
plants forced by a federal court to slow processing lines,
Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday.
    Waivers to allow plants to speed up processing lines again
could renew concerns about worker safety but boost profits for
pork companies and farmers. Vilsack did not specify exactly what
the waivers would do.
    A federal judge in March ruled against a Trump
administration rule that allowed pork plants to run slaughter
lines without speed limits, as long as they prevented fecal
contamination and minimize bacteria.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2LT3X5
    A lawsuit brought against USDA by the United Food and
Commercial Workers Union had challenged the 2019 rule over
worker safety concerns.
    The USDA did not appeal the ruling under the Biden
Administration. However, the agency is now focused on finding
ways "to allow adequate processing but to do so without
sacrificing workers' safety and health," Vilsack said at a
Congressional hearing. He said USDA is working with the pork
industry and workers' representatives.
    Seaboard Foods  SEB.A , the second-biggest U.S. pig
producer, sped up its Guymon, Oklahoma, pork plant last year,
becoming the first company to operate under the 2019 rule.
Workers told Reuters the faster line speeds increased injuries
at the plant. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2KO3KU
    Prior to the rule change, six other U.S. pork plants had
surpassed previous speed limits with special USDA permission,
according to agency documents. 
    One plant, Quality Pork Processors in Minnesota, generated a
proposal that USDA could use to create the structure for new
waivers for facilities that slowed down, Vilsack said. 
    The USDA has said it wants to review waiver criteria to "get
the line speeds back up and running" in talks with the pork
industry, U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota, whose district
includes Quality Pork Processors, said at the hearing.
    The USDA did not respond to a request for details, and
Quality Pork Processors did not respond to requests for comment.

 (Reporting by Tom Polansek; editing by Diane Craft)
 ((Thomas.Polansek@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/tpolansek))