Administration Ruffles Feathers With Push To Speed Poultry Lines

The Obama administration is forging ahead with plans to overhaul the nation's poultry inspection program despite major concerns from Congress, public interest circles and government officials.

President Obama’s 2015 budget, unveiled last week, contains millions of dollars worth of projected savings attributed directly to regulations that would remove some federal inspectors from poultry plants and allow the industry to speed up production lines.

Critics decry the proposal, which would shift some inspection duties to plant employees, as harmful deregulation. Dubbing the proposal the “filthy chicken rule,” they are imploring the administration to consider potential impacts to food and worker safety.

“This proposed rule would let the fox guard the hen house, at the expense of worker safety and consumer protection,” a coalition of more than 100 advocacy groups wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Obama.

More