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USDA seeks to modernize line speed rules to support food safety and reduce production bottlenecks

The USDA is proposing updates to federal line speed regulations in poultry and pork processing. 

The proposed changes would allow eligible facilities to operate at speeds supported by their processes, equipment, and food safety performance.  USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service would maintain full oversight.  Inspectors would maintain the ability to slow or stop operations whenever inspections cannot be performed effectively. 

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says removing outdated bottlenecks will help lower production costs and create greater stability in the food system.  She says the move would support a stronger supply chain, give producers and processors certainty, and help keep groceries more affordable.

The USDA says the proposed updates would replace a patchwork of measures with predictable, long-term rules.  Updates would also remove worker safety documentation that fall outside of the department’s statutory authority, which would reduce redundant paperwork. 

National Pork Producers Council president Duane Stateler, a pork producer from Ohio, says increase line speeds create great efficiency and provides financial security and more stability for pork producers. 

In November 2021, FSIS permitted increased line speeds at six pork processing facilities while gathering data to evaluate potential worker impacts.  In January 2025, FSIS released the results of a months-long study at those six plants and concluded that line speeds were not determined to be the leading factor in worker musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk at these plants.  In March 2025, the USDA announced plants to make permanent the NSIS increased line speed program. 

The National Chicken Council says the proposed rule would eliminate outdated administrative requirements that have slowed production and added unnecessary costs for U.S. producers.  NCC president Harrison Kircher says the current patchwork approach has created significant uncertainty for companies and U.S. producers face a global disadvantage as other countries operate at faster line speeds.