The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council recently recognized 160 chicken and turkey facilities with safety awards. The companies were honored in recognition of their outstanding performance through the implementation of innovative and effective employee safety and health programs.

Award consideration was based on injury statistics over three years (2019–2021) and an evaluation of written applications by academia and other safety experts. Twenty-nine facilities received the highest level of recognition, "Award of Distinction." The other categories include "Award of Honor" and "Award of Merit."

The Award of Distinction honors facilities for sharing the essential aspects of safety and health training, education, and employee involvement and have incurred injury and incident rates equal to or greater than 75% less than Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) results. The Award of Honor honors facilities based on the same essential aspects but with incident rates between 75% and 50% less than BLS results, and the Award of Merit honors facilities that have incurred injury and incident rates between 50% and equal to BLS results. 

“The awards are indicative of the progress made by the industry regarding the safety and health of its workers,” said Adrienne Allison, director of safety and health services, poultry operations for Tyson Food, and chair of the Joint Industry Safety and Health Council.

The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council consists of members from the 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 directly employ more than 350,000 workers.

Source: USPOULTRY