On February 9, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit challenging USDA's New Poultry Inspection System ("NPIS"), a rule finalized last summer to allow for more offline inspections at poultry processing plants. Food & Water Watch had filed a complaint alleging the new rule threatens public health by eliminating inspection resources and allowing slaughterhouses to dramatically increase their processing line speeds. In dismissing the case, the judge described the allegations as based "on anecdotes and speculation."
Under the rule, establishments may elect to adopt NPIS by February 23, 2015. Slaughterhouses adopting NPIS would be required to sort poultry carcasses before they are sent down the line for inspection by USDA—a new allocation of responsibility intended to free up federal inspectors to concentrate on offline inspection activities, such as verifying sanitation standards and conducting Food Safety Assessments.
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