The International Dairy Foods Association announced the names of 88 dairy company operations that will receive IDFA Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Awards and Achievement Certificates this year. This is the seventh year that IDFA has sponsored the program, which highlights the outstanding worker-safety records of U.S. dairy companies. The awards, which were on display during the International Dairy Show in Dallas, will be mailed to the recipients.

The operations for each nominated company were judged solely on specific data required by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on the facility's "Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses" report. This year's award decisions were based on data from OSHA reports for the 2009 calendar year.    

"Safety is a core value at Kroger, and we are honored that the safety accomplishments of our dairy manufacturing plants are being recognized by the International Dairy Foods Association," said Mike Nosewicz, vice president, dairy group – east, manufacturing division – dairy, The Kroger Co. "At Kroger, we are committed to promoting safe practices in our stores, distribution centers, food manufacturing plants and offices. We continue to strive to achieve our goal of zero accidents both at work and at home.”

The award program includes categories for both processing facilities and trucking operations in the dairy industry. In addition to the 26 processing category award winners, IDFA awarded Achievement Certificates to 26 processing operations for having no injury cases that resulted in lost time away from work. IDFA also recognized 36 trucking operations for having a Zero DART rate – zero cases with days away from work, restriction or job transfer in 2009. In each category, the number of companies either increased or remained the same when compared with the last year.

"These numbers indicate that dairy companies and their employees are eager and proud to participate in this award program every year. Their continued positive response truly demonstrates a foundational commitment to worker safety within the dairy industry," said Clay Detlefsen, vice president of regulatory affairs for IDFA. "Congratulations to all participants on their hard work, dedication and superior level of achievement."

Processing facilities were judged in four product categories: natural and processed cheese; dry, condensed and evaporated products; ice cream and frozen desserts; and fluid milk. Within each product category, IDFA accepted nominations for small, medium and large facilities that achieved the best overall safety performance rates based on the OSHA data.

The 2010 winners will be featured in the Dairy Field Reports section of an upcoming issue of Dairy Foods. IDFA will issue a call for nominations for the next Dairy Industry Safety Awards competition in early 2011.
 
2010 IDFA Plant Safety Category Award Winners

BGC Manufacturing ~ Dairy Plant ~ Tyler, TX

BGC Manufacturing ~ Ice Cream Plant ~ Tyler, TX

Dean Foods Company ~ Morningstar Foods ~ Sulphur Springs, TX

Dean Foods Company ~ Morningstar Foods ~ Frederick, MD

Dean Foods Company ~ PET/Land-O-Sun Dairy ~ Baxley, GA

Dean Foods Company ~ WhiteWave Foods~ Jacksonville, FL

Dean Foods Company of California/Ice Cream Plant ~ Buena Park, CA

Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream ~ Salt Lake Operations Center ~ Salt Lake City, UT

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream ~ Tulare Operations Center ~ Tulare, CA

Foremost Farms USA ~ Alma Center, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Clayton, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Marshfield, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Plover, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Preston, MN

Foremost Farms USA ~ Richland Center, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Sparta, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Waukon, IA

Foremost Farms USA ~ Wilson, WI

Pace Dairy Foods of Indiana ~ Crawfordsville, IN

The Kroger Co. ~ Compton Creamery ~ Compton, CA

The Kroger Co. ~ Crossroad Farms Dairy ~ Indianapolis, IN

The Kroger Co. ~ Heritage Farms Dairy ~ Murfreesboro, TN

The Kroger Co. ~ Jackson's Ice Cream ~ Denver, CO

The Kroger Co. ~ Riverside Creamery ~ Riverside, CA

The Kroger Co. ~ Tolleson Dairy ~ Tolleson, AZ

The Kroger Co. ~ Westover Dairy ~ Lynchburg, VA


2010 IDFA Plant Safety Award Winners - Zero Lost Workdays

Dean Foods Company ~ Barber Milk Company ~ Birmingham, AL

Dean Foods Company ~ Broughton Foods, LLC ~ Marietta, OH

Dean Foods Company of California ~ Buena Park, CA

Dean Foods Company ~ Dairy Fresh, LLC ~ High Point, NC

Dean Foods Company ~ Land O'Lakes ~ Thief River Falls, MN

Dean Foods Company ~ Lehigh Valley Dairies ~ Schuylkill Haven, PA

Dean Foods Company ~ Mayfield Dairy Farms ~ Birmingham, AL

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Greeley, CO

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Salt Lake City, UT

Dean Foods Company ~ Midwest Ice Cream, LLC ~ Belvidere, IL

Dean Foods Company North Central ~ Sioux Falls, SD

Dean Foods Company ~ Oak Farms Dairy ~ Houston, TX

Dean Foods Company ~ Oak Farms Dairy ~ Waco, TX

Dean Foods Company ~ Swiss Premium Dairy ~ Lebanon, PA

Dean Foods Company ~ WhiteWave Foods ~ Mount Crawford, VA

Dean Foods Company ~ WhiteWave Foods ~ City of Industry, CA

Dean Foods of Wisconsin - Waukesha, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Appleton, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Waumandee, WI

Foremost Farms USA ~ Milan, WI

HP Hood LLC ~ Penn Maid Dairy ~ Philadelphia, PA

HP Hood LLC ~ Sacramento, CA

Hunter Farms/Harris Teeter ~ High Point, NC

*Hunter Farms/Harris Teeter ~ High Point, NC

The Kroger Co. ~ Layton Dairy ~ Layton, UT

The Kroger Co. ~ Vandorvoort's Dairy ~ Fort Worth, TX

* Please note that we have two different High Point facilities as winners.



2010 IDFA Trucking Safety Award Winners - Zero DART Rate

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Charleston, WV

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Marietta, OH

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Cheyenne, WY

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Forsyth, MT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Hardin, MT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Logan, UT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Mills City MT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Price, UT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Rawlins, WY

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Richfield, UT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Riverton, WY

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Rock Springs, WY

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Salt Lake City, UT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Sheridan, WY

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Sidney, MT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Vernal, UT

Dean Foods Company ~ Meadow Gold Dairies ~ Worland, WY

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Oak Farms Dairy ~ Beaumont, TX

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Oak Farms Dairy ~ Brenham, TX

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Oak Farms Dairy ~ Houston, TX

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Oak Farms Dairy ~ Sweeny, TX

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ Schepps Dairy ~ Houston, TX

Dean Transportation, Inc. ~ White Sulphur Springs, WV

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream ~ Arizona Sales ~ Phoenix, AZ

Cabot Creamery Company ~ Montpelier, VT

HP Hood LLC ~ Vernon, NY

HP Hood LLC ~ Axelrod ~ Paterson, NJ

HP Hood LLC ~ Crowley Foods ~ Albany, NY

HP Hood LLC ~ Crowley Foods ~ LaFargeville, NY

HP Hood LLC ~ Heluva Good Distribution ~ Sodus, NY

HP Hood LLC ~ Heluva Good Transportation ~ Sodus, NY

HP Hood LLC ~ Kemps LLC ~ Harahan, LA

HP Hood LLC ~ Kemps LLC ~ La Crosse, WI

HP Hood LLC ~ Kemps LLC ~ Mason City, IA

HP Hood LLC ~ Kemps LLC ~ Minneapolis, MN

HP Hood LLC ~ Kemps LLC ~ St. Cloud, MN

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $110-billion-a-year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.


MEDIA CONTACT:
Marti Pupillo         
202/220-3535
mpupillo@idfa.org