WASHINGTON – Fifty-six facilities operated by chicken and turkey companies were recently honored by the Joint Industry Safety and Health Council for outstanding safety performance by implementing innovative and effective safety and health programs at the 2011 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry in Savannah, Ga., according to the June 3 edition of the National Chicken Council’s Washington Report.

“Over the last 30 years, the rate of improvement in workplace safety throughout the poultry industry has outpaced manufacturing as a whole,” Paul Pressley, executive vice president of industry programs for the US Poultry & Egg Association. said. “Poultry companies have devoted more people, time, and other resources to actively identify and correct workplace hazards. These awards acknowledge excellent safety performance achievement through effective and innovative programs.”


Award consideration was based on injury statistics over three years and an evaluation of written applications by three judges: Craig Wyvill, retired director of the Agricultural Technology Research Program at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI); Gary Pohlmann of Marsh Risk Consulting; and Doug Britton, program manager for Agricultural Technology Research at GTRI. Awards were presented to 56 facilities with 10 in the highest category–Award of Distinction. The other categories included Award of Honor and Award of Merit.

The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council is made up of members from U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council, and National Turkey Federation. Collectively, the three organizations represent companies that produce 95 percent of the nation’s poultry products and employ over 300,000 workers.

2011 Award of Distinction honorees include Perdue Farms Inc., Dillon, SC, processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Perry, Ga., fresh processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Salisbury, Md., processing; Wayne Farms LLC, Pendergrass, Ga., processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Concord, NC, further processing; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Russellville, Ark., premium protein Products; Wayne Farms LLC, Troy, Ala., hatchery; Wayne Farms LLC, Union Springs, Ala., processing; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Harrisonburg, Va., feed mill; and Perdue Farms Inc., Accomac, Va., processing.

2011 Award of Honor honorees included: Wayne Farms LLC, Laurel, Miss., hatchery; Cobb-Vantress Inc., Siloam Springs, Ark., feed mill; Perdue Farms Inc., Rockingham, NC, processing; Longenecker’s, Elizabethtown, Pa., hatchery; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Broadway, Va., processing; Wayne Farms LLC, Decatur, Ala., West, further processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Perry, Ga., cook plant; Perdue Farms Inc., Dothan, Ala., processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Forsyth, Ga., hatchery; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Mayfield, Ky., hatchery; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Staley, NC, hatchery; Perdue Farms Inc., Cromwell, Ky., processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Hurlock, Md., feed mill; Wayne Farms LLC, Decatur, Ala., fresh plant; Perdue Farms Inc., Salisbury, Md., hatchery 2; Perdue Farms Inc., Georgetown, Del., roaster complex; Perdue Farms Inc., Cromwell, Ky., hatchery; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Staley, NC, feed mill;
Perdue Farms Inc., Washington, Ind., turkey processing; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Mayfield, Ky., feed mill; Wayne Farms LLC, Decatur, Ala. East, further processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Candor, NC, feed mill; Sanderson Farms Inc., McComb, Miss., processing; Gold’n Plump Poultry, Arcadia, Wis., feed mill; Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Natchitoches, La., further processing, Live Oak, Fla., feed mill, and Moorefield, W. Va., hatchery.

2011 Award of Merit winners are Coleman Natural Foods, Gainesville, Ga., processing; Sanderson Farms Inc., Laurel, Miss., processing; Wayne Farms LLC, Union Springs, Ala., processing; Equity Group Eufaula Division, Bakerhill, Ala.; Tyson Foods Inc., Rogers, Ark., further processing and Dexter, Mo., hatchery; Koch Foods, Gainesville, Ga., further processing; Moroni Feed Company, Moroni, Utah, feed mill; Cagle’s Inc., Collinsville, Ala., processing; Wayne Farms LLC, Albertville, Ala., hatchery; Koch Foods, Cumming, Ga., further processing; Perdue Farms Inc., Murfreesboro, NC, hatchery; Equity Group Alabama Division, Rainbow City, Ala., processing; Tyson Foods, River Valley Animal Foods, Robards, Ky.; Wayne Farms LLC, Laurel, Miss., feed mill; Cobb-Vantress Inc., Wadesboro, NC, hatchery; and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Moorefield, W. Va., prepared foods.