USDA offers ways to help small poultry plants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking steps to make sure that small meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants have the chance to succeed, a top agency official said.
Paul Kiecker, administrator for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), spoke of programs designed to help the smaller plants while speaking during The Poultry Federation’s Food Safety Conference on March 29.
Kiecker, who was appointed to lead the FSIS by then-Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, has been with the federal agency since 1988, when Ronald Reagan was president.
“Over 90% of the nearly 6500 slaughter and processing establishments that are regulated by FSIS are designated as small or very small and Secretary Vilsack has already highlighted ways in which the department intends to level the playing field for small and very small establishments,” said Kiecker.