WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 28, 2024 — The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for again extending the New Swine Inspection System line speed trials through Jan. 15, 2025. Processing facilities will enroll in a modified time limited trial, which will include a study to evaluate the impact of increased line speeds on worker safety.
“We appreciate USDA and FSIS for listening to the pork industry and taking another step toward making permanent these increased line speeds, which totals more than three percent of national harvest capacity,” said NPPC President and Missouri pork producer Scott Hays. “These actions give pork producers more certainty in an uncertain time.”
NPPC has advocated for increased line speeds since 2019, and in 2021, FSIS permitted increased line speeds at six pork packing plants while simultaneously gathering data to evaluate potential worker impacts.
In December 2023, NPPC applauded FSIS’s 90-day extension of the trials. After the results were collected, FSIS yesterday announced a swine study was needed and again extended the trials.
According to industry economists, without the increase in line speeds – and the resulting decrease in packing capacity – some pork producers could have incurred an additional loss of nearly $10 a head in the first and second quarters of 2024.
NPPC has regularly met with FSIS to underscore the importance of these trials and supports expanding and making permanent the line speed provisions to boost packing capacity and help alleviate supply issues.
Read more on NPPC’s actions here.
