The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday that it will allow a 60-day period for public comment on the chicken industry's petition to raise poultry-line speeds.
The National Chicken Council on Sept. 1 asked that chicken plants be allowed to operate without speed limitations under USDA's New Poultry Inspection System.
According to the letter, 20 plants have been using line speeds exceeding 175 birds per minute since 2007.
The council said the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service acknowledged that those plants provided the same or better food safety levels than the ones required to operate at the standard 140 birds per minute.
Opponents say current line speeds are fast enough and are responsible for the high number of injuries in chicken plants.
-- Nathan Owens