The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council, made up of members from the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council and National Turkey Federation, awarded sixty-eight poultry facilities for displaying superior safety performance achieved through the execution of groundbreaking and effective health & safety programs. The safety awards, held annually, were delivered during the 2012 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry, which was held in Ponte Vedra, Florida at the end of last week.
Acting president of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Tucker, Ga. said at the presentation "The industry recognizes that our people are our most valuable asset, and worker safety efforts have never been stronger,"
“Poultry companies continue to devote people, time and other resources to actively identify and correct workplace hazards. These awards acknowledge excellent safety performance achievement through effective and innovative programs."
“I not only commend these plants and their management teams for their tremendous efforts to protect their workers, but for their ongoing dedication to further progress,” president of the National Chicken Council, Mike Brown added. “The significant and consistent decline in illness and injury rates among our workforce over the past two decades is a direct result of their strong commitment to worker safety.”
President of the National Turkey Federation, Joel Brandenberger, remarked "The poultry industry has been diligent in reducing recordable injuries and illnesses for nearly 30 years. These awards acknowledge the excellent safety performance achievements the poultry industry has accomplished. We hope by highlighting these facilities we can all learn additional practices and tools to further protect the people that work hard every day in our plants to provide high-quality, safe and nutritious protein for consumers.”
Consideration for the safety awards was grounded on injury statistics over a three year period along with an evaluation of written applications by the three judges: Doug Britton, program manager for Agricultural Technology Research at Georgia Tech Research Institute; Gary Pohlmann of Marsh Risk Consulting; and George Nassif of Aon Global Risk Consulting.
25 poultry facilities picked up the highest level of credit, the "Award of Distinction." The other levels of credit included "Award of Honor" and "Award of Merit."
The recipients of all level or credit for safety in the poultry industry are listed below, firstly ordered by company and then facility location and business activity:
Award of Distinction
Butterball LLC
Ozark, AR - Processing
Carthage, MO - Processing
Huntsville, AR - Processing
Cargill Turkey Production LLC
Butterfield, MO - Feed Mill
Springdale, AR - Feed Mill
Cargill Value Added Meats
Temple, TX - Feed Mill
Waco, TX - Processing
Keystone Foods
Albany, KY - Processing
Franklin, KY - Hatchery
Camilla, GA - Processing
Perdue Farms Inc.
Perry, GA - Cook Plant
Dillon, SC - Processing
Perry, GA - Fresh Processing
Concord, NC - Further Processing
Salisbury, MD - Processing
Rockingham, NC - Processing
Accomac, VA - Processing
Georgetown, DE - Roaster Complex
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
Falkville, AL - Feed Mill
Batesville, AR - Processing
Sara Lee Foods
Storm Lake, IA - Processing
Simmons Foods
Siloam Springs, AR - Further Processing
Wayne Farms LLC
Pendergrass, GA - Processing
Decatur, AL West - Hatchery
Union Springs, AL - Processing
Award of Honor
Butterball LLC
Mt. Olive, NC - Processing
Cargill Turkey Production LLC
California, MO - Feed Mill
Cargill Value Added Meats
Springdale, AR - Processing
Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
Siloam Springs, AR - Feed Mill
Timpson, TX - Hatchery
Gerber Poultry
Kidron, OH - Processing
Hubbard LLC
Pikeville, TN - Hatchery
Keystone Foods
Gadsden, AL - Processing
Eufaula, AL - Processing
Moroni Feed Co.
Moroni, UT - Feed Mill
Perdue Farms Inc.
Cromwell, KY - Hatchery
Forsyth, GA - Hatchery
Bridgewater, VA - Further Processing
Nashville, NC - Feed Mill
Cromwell, KY - Processing
Washington, IN - Turkey Processing
Forsyth, GA - Feed Mill
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
Moorefield, WV - Hatchery
Broadway, VA - Processing
Moorefield, WV - Feed Mill
Harrisonburg, VA - Feed Mill
Mayfield, KY - Processing
Pittsburg, TX - Hatchery #1 & #2
Natchitoches, LA - Processing
Sanderson Farms, Inc.
Laurel, MS - Processing
McComb, MS - Processing
River Valley Animal Foods
Robards, KY
Texarkana, AR
Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative
Hinton, VA - Processing
Wayne Farms LLC
Troy, AL - Hatchery
Laurel, MS - Feed Mill
Danville, AR - Hatchery
Decatur, AL East - Further Processing
Decatur, AL - Fresh Plant
Award of Merit
House of Raeford Farms
Arcadia, LA - Processing
Peco Foods, Inc.
Sebastopol, MS - Processing
Perdue Farms Inc.
Dothan, AL - Processing
Salisbury, MD - Hatchery 2
Murfreesboro, NC - Hatchery
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
Athens, GA - Feed Mill
Broadway, VA - Hatchery
Moorefield, WV - Prepared Foods
Canton, GA - Processing