Cheese Wheels on a shelf.

IDFA Recognizes Dairy Companies for Worker Safety

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) recognizes 28 dairy companies for their outstanding achievements in worker safety in 2020 with the IDFA Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Award. This is the seventeenth year that IDFA has sponsored this program, highlighting the outstanding workplace safety achievements of U.S. dairy companies.

“These awards continue to demonstrate that safety in the workplace is the dairy industry’s number one priority,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “Each awardee is a shining example of how to implement innovative and proactive approaches to workplace safety. Year after year, dairy companies go above and beyond to provide a safe and productive work environment. Consumers and customers of dairy foods companies value how these innovations help to deliver safe, wholesome, and nutritious food to people around the world.”

Each company applied by detailing their occupational injury and illness performance rates as well as providing a narrative essay on safety efforts at the facility. Evaluations and awards were based on a review of injury statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and judged by Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., of Fisher & Phillips LLP, Kathie Canning of Dairy Foods magazine, and Taylor Boone of IDFA.

“Lagging indicators such as lost time injury and illness rates and DART rates do not give the full picture of how good a company safety and health program is,” said Foulke, Jr. “Moving towards utilizing leading indicators such as a strong culture of worker safety including continuous improvement, continuous education, engagement for employees and observations by managers and employees are more effective ways to improve a good safety and health program. Clearly, many members of the International Dairy Foods Association are utilizing, not only lagging indicators but are now focusing on leading indicators that will dramatically enhance their safety and health programs. These awards demonstrate that companies’ understanding of how and why a strong safety culture is such an integral part of any dairy facility operation.”

“These awards show that the dairy industry is driven not only to produce nutritious and delicious dairy products but to do so as part of a company-wide safety culture,” said Boone.

Criteria for Success

The award program includes categories for both processing facilities and trucking operations in the dairy industry. IDFA will make a total of 28 awards; in addition to 26 outstanding facility safety award winners, IDFA recognized 2 companies as Most Improved Facility based on significant decreases in recordable-injury cases and the rate of days away from work, restrictions and transfers (DART) for each of the last two years when compared to all other facilities that applied.

The 2020 winners will be featured on DairyFoods.com. IDFA will issue a call for nominations for the next Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Awards competition in early 2021.

2020 Facility and Transportation Outstanding Record in Worker’s Safety Award Winners

  • Danone North America – Fort Worth, TX
  • Danone North America – Bridgeton, NJ
  • Danone North America – Mt. Crawford, VA
  • Darigold, Inc. – Sunnyside, WA
  • Darigold, Inc. Fleet Operations – Spokane, WA
  • Darigold, Inc. Fleet Operations – Sunnyside, WA
  • Darigold, Inc. Fleet Operations – Bozeman, MT
  • Foremost Farms USA – Clayton, WI
  • Foremost Farms USA – Lancaster, WI
  • Foremost Farms USA – Milan, WI
  • Foremost Farms USA – Reedsburg, WI
  • Foremost Farms USA – Preston, MN
  • Glanbia Nutritionals – Twin Falls, ID
  • HP Hood LLC – Agawam, MA
  • HP Hood LLC – Arkport, NY
  • The Kroger Co. – Compton Creamery – Compton, CA (fluid milk)
  • The Kroger Co. – Compton Creamery – Compton, CA (ice cream)
  • The Kroger Co. – Layton Dairy – Layton, UT (cheese)
  • The Kroger Co. – Layton Dairy – Layton, UT (ice cream)
  • The Kroger Co. – Layton Dairy – Layton, UT (milk)
  • The Kroger Co. – Mountain View Foods – Denver, CO
  • The Kroger Co. – Pace Dairy Foods – Crawfordsville, IN
  • The Kroger Co. – Riverside Creamery – Riverside, CA                                    
  • The Kroger Co. – Tolleson Dairy – Tolleson, AZ
  • Leprino Foods Company – Allandale, MI
  • Springdale Ice Cream & Beverage – Springdale, OH

2020 Most Improved Facilities

  • Darigold, Inc. – Sunnyside, WA
  • Foremost Farms USA – Clayton, WI

Keep up to date on current industry news here.

Source: IDFA

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