USDA OKs Record Number of Poultry Line-Speed Waivers in April

The federal government in April approved a record number of line-speed waivers for poultry slaughterhouses—the most ever in a single month—as the Covid-19 public health crisis makes it harder for customers to find staple foods at grocery stores in many parts of the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture granted 15 line-speed waivers this month to allow poultry plants to exceed the normal maximum of 140 birds per minute. That’s the most waivers approved in any single month and one more than the total for all of 2019, according to a database maintained by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. ...