WASHINGTON, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President J. David Cox Sr. issued the following statement regarding the newly released final rule on poultry slaughter inspection:
"The Obama administration's final poultry slaughter inspection rule - which was crafted by USDA and approved by OMB - will destroy effective oversight of our country's poultry slaughterhouses. This final rule will remove 800 federal inspectors from the slaughterhouses and turn over their inspection responsibilities to company-paid employees, leaving American consumers to pay the price.
"The loss of independent, government poultry inspectors is a tremendous blow to an inspection system that helps ensure our nation's food safety. These trained, dedicated public servants are charged with ensuring that the poultry - chicken and turkey - that makes it to a family's dinner table is safe to eat. Handing this critical function over to poultry companies is an open invitation to cut back on safety in the name of higherprofits.
"It is unconscionable that the Obama administration, which has in other circumstances worked so hard to encourage Americans to eat healthy food, is willing to create greater risk to the public's food safety by privatizing the country's poultry slaughter inspection system."
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, follow us on Facebookand Twitter.
SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees
