'Incredibly dangerous job': concerns safety is slipping at US meat plants

Freedom of information request shows dramatic fall in number of inspectors and 30% rise in whistleblower complaints

The safety of US meat plant workers is at risk, workers and campaigners believe, because of a triple whammy of increased line speeds, higher turnover and fewer workers due to coronavirus.

Authorities, meanwhile, are failing to keep up with the problem. A freedom of information request to the US government shows a dramatic decrease in the number of plant inspectors, while the number of whistleblower complaints has increased by 30% over the past year.