International Dairy Foods Association Recognizes 34 Dairy Firms for Work Safety

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has recognized as many as 34 dairy firms for their outstanding achievements in worker safety in 2020 with the Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Award. This is the 18th year that IDFA has sponsored the Dairy Industry Safety Achievement Award Program, underlining the outstanding workplace safety achievements of American dairy companies.

Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA said “When identifying these dairy companies as safety award winners, the dairy industry is demonstrating that workplace safety is its top priority”. Each award demonstrates the success of a dairy company safety team's innovative and proactive approach to workplace safety.  

He added “Every day, every year, dairy companies are constantly striving to provide a safe and productive working environment”.   

Each company entered by detailing its performance rankings for occupational accidents and diseases and providing an explanatory essay on safety strategies in the facility. Ratings and Awards Based on an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) review of injury statistics, judged by Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. of Fisher & Phillips LLP, Taylor Boone of IDFA and Kathie Canning of Dairy Food Magazines. 

Foulke said “Subsequent indicators such as disability and lost morbidity and DART rates do not provide a complete picture of the quality of a company's health and safety program”.  Moving in the direction of leveraging leading indicators such as a strong occupational safety culture, including continuous improvement, continuous education, employee participation, and manager and employee observation, is good safety and effective ways to improve your health program. 

He added ” It is clear that many members of the International Dairy Association are not only using lagging metrics, but are now focusing on leading metrics that will dramatically improve our health and safety programs”. 

Award-winning program covers dairy industry processing facilities and trucking operations. IDFA has been awarded a total of 34 awards. In addition to the 28 winners of excellent facility safety, IDFA says it has recognized six companies as winners of the Most Improved Facilities award, based on a dramatic reduction in record injuries case and the annual leave rates, restrictions, and transfers (DART) for the past two years compared to all other applicable facilities. 

2021 Worker Safety Excellence Awards 

• Centennial Farms Dairy — Atlanta (fluid milk).

• Compton Creamery — Compton, Calif. (ice cream)

• Compton Creamery — Compton, Calif. (fluid milk).

• Crystal Farms Dairy Co. — Lake Mills, Wis. (cheese).

• Darigold — Sunnyside Fleet — Sunnyside, Wash. (trucking, local).

• Darigold — Boise Fleet — Boise, Idaho (trucking, local).

• Fairlife — Dexter, N.M. (fluid milk).

• Fairlife — Coopersville, Mich. (fluid milk).

• Foremost Farms USA — Marshfield, Wis. (cheese).

• Foremost Farms USA — Clayton, Wis. (cheese).

• Hiland Dairy — Little Rock, Ark. (fluid milk).

• Glanbia Nutritionals — Twinfalls Cheese Plant — Twinfalls, Idaho (cheese)

• HP Hood LLC — Agawam Distribution Operations – Agawam, Mass. (trucking, local)

• Kroger Co., Layton Dairy — Layton, Utah (fluid milk)

• Kroger Co. — Springdale Ice Cream and Beverage — Springdale, Ohio (ice cream).

• Kroger, Layton Dairy — Layton, Utah (cheese).

• Kroger Co., Layton Dairy — Layton, Utah (ice cream)

• Kroger Mountain View Foods — Denver (fluid milk).

• Kroger Co., Westover Dairy — Lynchburg, Va. (fluid milk)

• Pace Dairy Foods Co. — Crawfordsville, Ind. (cheese)

• Pace Dairy Foods Co. — Rochester, Minn. (cheese)

• Prairie Farms Dairy — Carlinville, Ill. (fluid milk)

• Prairie Farms Dairy — Springfield, Ill. (ice cream)

• Prairie Farms Dairy — Carbondale, Ill. (cheese)

• Prairie Farms Dairy — O’Fallon, Ill. (ice cream)

• Valley Milk LLC — Turlock, Calif. (dry, condensed, evaporated)

• Tamarack Farms Dairy — Newark, Ohio (fluid milk)

• Tolleson Dairy — Tolleson, Ariz. (fluid milk).

Most Improved Worker Safety Award 2021 

• Masters Gallery Foods — Plymouth, Wis. (cheese)

• Darigold Fleet — Seattle, Wash. (trucking, local)

• Masters Gallery Foods — Plymouth, Wis. (trucking, local)

• HP Hood LLC — Batavia, N.Y. (fluid milk)

• HP Hood LLC — Agawam Fluid Milk Plant — Agawam, Mass. (fluid milk)

• Tamarack Farms Dairy — Newark, Ohio (fluid milk)

Taylor Boone IDFA regulatory affairs coordinator said,These awards show that the dairy industry is not only motivated to produce delicious and nutritious dairy products, but is also part of a culture of corporate safety”.