When Dead Chickens Fly: The Current Issue With American Chicken Processing Plants | Episode 110

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In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are discussing a new development in the poultry industry: a waiver made during the pandemic that allowed poultry plants to increase their speeds from 140 to 175 birds per minute has now been made permanent.

This change raises numerous concerns around how to guarantee that the meat being processed is safe for consumers and that the plant is a safe space for workers. They go over the current flaws in the industry, some solutions to make processes more efficient, and the end product safer for Americans.

In this episode:

💩 [03:19] Speedy butchery: when dead chickens fly

💩 [04:58] The realities of meat packing plants versus at-home butchering

💩 [09:03] How meat inspections fall short in these plants

💩 [10:38] When it went from bad to worse

💩 [11:29] Meat safety is, apparently, still in the hands of the wife

💩 [12:03] The hazard behind the new 175 birds per minute speed

💩 [13:22] USDA inspectors don’t guarantee meat safety at any speed

💩 [14:50] Some sobering foodborne illness stats connected to poultry

💩 [15:20] What will actually decrease Salmonella in American chickens

💩 [17:14] How higher speeds will affect workers’ safety

💩 [18:55] Industry consolidation and its consequences for mom-and-pops

💩 [23:53] Ways to actually make the meat inspection process effective

💩 [25:07] When chickens still have feathers after being processed

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Read Dr. Darin Detwiler’s opinion piece in Food Safety News, Unsafe at any speed — again: The meat industry’s looming crisis.

Watch the Grammy Award-Winning Food Safety Documentary, Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food, where you’ll see some dead chickens flying.

Check out an “I Love Lucy” clip that shows the scene Matt and Francine are talking about, but colorized.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“ The population is going to continue to increase. We're an exporter of food. We need somehow to allow us to create more plants effectively and efficiently by using new technology that does not revolve around hiring a USDA inspector to sit down there and watch 175 birds a minute fly past their face.” – Matt Regusci

“ 1.3 million people get sick from Salmonella every year, some 420 die, and nearly a quarter of those cases come from poultry. Another 1.5 million people suffer from campylobacter infections, which is traced back to contaminated poultry.” – Francine L Shaw

We hope you enjoy this episode!

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