Poultry line speed waivers possible if producers meet new criteria
To get a “speed waiver” to run an “evisceration line” at up to 175 birds per minute, rather than the current 140 bpm, is going to require poultry businesses to jump through a few more hoops at USDA’s...
View ArticleLetter to the Editor: Line speeds, worker safety are real concerns
Opinion Dear Editor, Editor Dan Flynn’s Jan. 12 letter supporting the USDA’s new swine slaughter rule perpetuates so many falsehoods, it merits a lengthy response. Among other things, the new rule...
View ArticleUSDA gets all but the line speed issue thrown out of court
The unions are down to one issue with the USDA about new inspection protocols for market hogs, and it is not food safety. After tossing out challenges to how USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service...
View ArticleOSHA’s agreement with Meat Institute may be one toke over the line
The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last month signed a two-year alliance to provide Meat...
View ArticleSmithfield appeals OSHA fine for not protecting meat plant employees from...
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. in Sioux Falls, SD, for failing to protect employees from exposure to the...
View ArticleOSHA fines JBS beef plant in Colorado for failing to protect employees from...
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a second large meat production company for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus....
View ArticleBlowback from industry and union on OSHA for Smithfield/JBS fines
Those OSHA fines for not protecting employees from the coronavirus are getting blow-back from both the industry and the union. The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) issued a statement after...
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OSHA finalizes protection for food safety whistleblowers
Food company employees — from field workers to grocery store clerks — are on the front lines of food safety efforts but are sometimes reluctant to speak up about problems because they fear retaliation....
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Tyson Foods fined $263K for OSHA violations at Texas chicken plant
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Tyson Foods $263,498 for 15 “serious” and two “repeated” workplace safety violations at the company’s chicken...
View ArticleUSDA gets employee safety training and OSHA gets access to food facilities...
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) renewed a cooperative agreement with a formal signing on Aug.1. The...
View ArticleOSHA Fines Birdsong Over Worker Death
Howard Thompson was a cold storage worker at Birdsong Peanuts in Blakely, GA last Sept. 28 when he was caught in a conveyor belt, injured critically, and died the same night. Thompson, 23, was taken...
View ArticleFDA, OSHA Come Down on Kosher Salad Maker
A maker of kosher salads in New York State is finding itself in trouble with two federal regulatory agencies. U.F.S. Industries Inc., doing business as Sally Sherman Foods, received a July 21 warning...
View ArticleChicken Processor Cited for Workplace Violations
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. in Russellville, AL was cited Tuesday for 29 safety and health violations. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined the...
View ArticleOSHA Sues Whole Foods Over Food Safety Whistleblower
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has sued Whole Foods Market Group to reinstate a former employee who was allegedly fired for reporting health concerns...
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Meeting Our Mission – A Safer Food Supply
My passion for public health stems from my career as an infectious disease doctor, watching families cope with the heartbreak caused by preventable diseases, including foodborne illness. I know what...
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Can We Talk Turkey?
On April 24, 2013, Mother Jones ran a story entitled “USDA Ruffles Feathers With New Poultry Inspection Policy,” by Tom Philpott. Like so many posts that I read about on the new proposed poultry...
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USDA’s Poultry Proposal Endangers Eaters, Not Just Employees
Ever hear the one about how the well‐dressed accomplice caused a scene at the front door of the bank, while the masked robbers snuck in through the back and made off with the loot? Let that be a lesson...
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OSHA Issues Interim Final Rule on FSMA Whistleblower Protections
On Wednesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) posted its interim final rule regarding the employee protection (whistleblower) provision of the Food Safety Modernization Act...
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Food Manufacturers Told to Prepare For FSMA Whistleblower Protection
Employment and labor law firm Littler Mendelson is advising food manufacturers to be prepared for new whistleblower protections under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The San Francisco,...
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Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hears Testimony on Poultry Worker...
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony Tuesday that worker safety in the U.S. meatpacking and poultry industries could be compromised by pending rule changes at the U.S....
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Judge Upholds OSHA Citations Against NY-Based Chicken Processor
A judge has upheld citations for a NY-based chicken processor found to be violating rules related to chemical and mechanical hazards for workers. The citations were issued by the U.S. Department of...
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144 Food Industry Employees Filed FSMA Whistleblower Complaints From 2011-2014
Food industry employees have been using the whistleblower protections provided under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) ever since it was signed into law, according to the U.S. Department of...
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OSHA Proposes $38K Fine for Chicken Processor Over Worker Injuries
Following an inspection of a Delaware poultry plant, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found nine worker-related safety violations and proposed a...
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Ohio Poultry Processor Faces $861,500 in Fines From OSHA
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited an Ohio poultry processing facility operated by Case Farms Processing Inc. for two willful, 20 repeat, 30...
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