The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council recognized chicken and turkey companies that exemplified outstanding safety performance through the implementation of innovative and effective safety and health programs. The first annual safety awards were presented during the 2010 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry.

"The poultry industry has been diligent in reducing recordable injuries and illnesses over the past 25 years," saysMike Klun, environmental health and safety manager for Cargill Value Added Meats. "Thus, it is important to 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 our co-workers.”

Award consideration was based on injury statistics during three years and an evaluation of written applications by three judges: Craig Wyvill, recently retired director of the Agricultural Technology Research Program at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Gary Pohlmann of Marsh Risk Consulting and Doug Britton of GTRI. Awards were presented to 48 facilities with eight 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 95 percent of the nation's poultry products and employ hundreds of thousands of workers.

Award of Distinction: Butterball LLC, Cargill Turkey Production LLC, Equity Group Kentucky Division LLC, Simmons Foods Inc., Wayne Farms LLC

Award of Honor: Butterball LLC, Cargill Value Added Meats, Cobb-Vantress, Inc., Equity Group Eufaula Division LLC, Equity Group Georgia Division LLC, Gold’n Plump Poultry, Perdue Farms, Inc., Simmons Foods Inc., Townsends of Arkansas, Tyson Foods River Valley Animal Foods, Wayne Farms LLC

Award of Merit: Cobb-Vantress, Inc., Equity Group Georgia Division LLC, Gold’n Plump Poultry, Marshall Durbin Companies, Michigan Turkey Producers, Perdue Farms, Inc., Sanderson Farms, Inc., Sara Lee Corporation, Townsends, Inc., Tyson Foods River Valley Animal Foods, Tyson Foods, Inc., Wayne Farms LLC