WHAT HAPPENED: NCC this week filed comments with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) strongly supporting a proposed rule that would raise the maximum line speed for young chicken processors operating under the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) from 140 to 175 birds per minute (bpm).
WHY IT MATTERS: The current 140 bpm cap is one of the most restrictive line speed requirements in the world. Major competitors — including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada — have eliminated mandatory line speed caps while maintaining food safety standards, putting U.S. producers at a significant competitive disadvantage. Higher throughput also supports independent contract growers by improving farm cash flow, and is expected to create additional jobs in second processing, where workers trim, debone, and package product.
NCC’S TAKE: NCC strongly supports the proposed rule and urged FSIS to finalize it as quickly as possible. “This is a science-based rule backed with decades of data that will make chicken more affordable for American families, create jobs in rural communities, and strengthen U.S. global competitiveness — all while maintaining our industry’s commitment to food and worker safety,” said Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC Senior Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs. NCC’s full comments can be found here.
THE SCIENCE: NCC’s comments highlight nearly three decades of research and real-world data demonstrating that higher line speeds do not compromise food safety. Since 1997, FSIS’s HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP) — and later the NPIS line speed waiver program — have consistently shown that processors operating up to 175 bpm meet or exceed food safety performance standards, including for Salmonella reduction. FSIS’s own data shows that since NPIS line speed waivers were first approved in 2017, Salmonella illnesses per one million pounds of chicken consumed have declined by 9.2 percent. On worker safety, the industry’s total recordable illness and injury rate in 2024 was 2.4 cases per 100 full-time workers — a 90 percent decline since 1994 and well below the broader food manufacturing sector rate of 3.3. FSIS’s PULSE study, published in January 2025, found no correlation between higher evisceration line speeds and increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
WHAT’S NEXT: The comment period has now closed, and FSIS will review submissions before moving toward a final rule. NCC will continue to engage with USDA and the administration to advance this commonsense modernization and keep members updated as the rulemaking progresses.
