The Biden Administration issued a statement noting that it will comply with a federal court ruling eliminating increased line speeds at pork processing plants. The line speeds will be expected to decrease from 1,450 hogs per hour to the previous maximum line speed of 1,106 hogs per hour, reports the Miami Herald.
The USDA’s response, issued on May 26, 2021, states: “On March 31, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota vacated a portion of FSIS’ final rule establishing a voluntary “New Swine Slaughter Inspection System” (NSIS). The Court found that FSIS violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it asked for comments on the impact of line speed increases on worker safety in the proposed rule but did not consider these comments in the final rule. The Court vacated the rule only insofar as it eliminated the maximum line speed cap for NSIS establishments. The other provisions of the final rule were not affected by the Court’s decision.