The American Meat Institute (AMI) awarded 135 meat and poultry plants for achieving high levels of safety performance. The awards were presented at the AMI 2014 Conference on Worker Safety, Human Resources and the Environment, at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City.

Thirty one plants were presented the highest award – the Award of Honor. The Award of Merit went to 49. Thirty one plants received the Award of Commendation and 24 received a Certificate of Recognition.

“Worker safety progress is one of our industry’s greatest success stories. During the last 19 years, injury/illness rates in the U.S. meat industry have improved by nearly 80 percent.” said Greg Benedict, AMI Chairman and President and CEO of American Foods Group. “The rate of injury and illness in the meat and poultry industry continues to fall – and this is no accident.”

To view a list of this year’s Safety Award winners, click here.

AMI also presented 119 plants with Environmental Recognition awards during the conference. This year 40 plants received the highest level Tier Four awards. Sixty-one were recognized for Tier Three; 7 were recognized for Tier Two; and 12 plants were recognized for completing Tier One.

The Environmental Recognition Award Program is a four-tier, voluntary environmental management system toolbox, coupled with an awards program that ranges from simple to complex. The program begins in Tier One with a basic package of environmental policy statements and environmental policy compliance criteria, advances through more comprehensive requirements in Tier Two, incorporates a complete EMS model developed in cooperation with the EPA as Tier Three, and culminates with an ISO 14001 EMS as Tier Four.

“The environmental accomplishments of all of these plants are remarkable, said AMI Chairman Greg Benedict, President and CEO of American Foods Group. “They go beyond simple regulatory compliance. They reflect leadership and commitment to your jobs, communities and to the success of your industry.”

For a complete list of this year’s Environmental Recognition award recipients, click here.

Source: AMI