WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Chicken Council has thrown its support behind a federal proposal that would allow poultry processing facilities to accelerate their production lines under specific inspection protocols.
The industry organization submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday, endorsing a rule change that would raise the permitted processing speed for young chickens from the current limit of 140 birds per minute to 175 birds per minute.
This speed increase would apply specifically to facilities operating under the New Poultry Inspection System, a modernized inspection approach that differs from traditional USDA inspection methods.
The proposed regulation represents a significant shift in how quickly poultry processors could operate their production lines while maintaining federal oversight and safety standards.
