Excerpt from the Executive Summary: The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) contracted with a research team from the University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF) to study the impact of evisceration line speed on worker safety in swine processing establishments. The scope of work was to “assist the FSIS in assessing the relationship between evisceration line speed in young chicken and swine slaughter establishments and the scope, magnitude, and factors that influence worker safety and health risks for establishment employees impacted by the speed of the slaughter line.” The study team evaluated the impact of evisceration line speed on work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and antimicrobial-related respiratory symptoms. This report summarizes the findings for swine processing establishments.
