The International Dairy Foods Association has announced the names of 78 dairy company operations that will receive IDFA Dairy Industry Safety Recognition Awards and Achievement Certificates. This is the sixth year that IDFA has sponsored the program, which highlights the outstanding worker-safety records of U.S. dairy companies.

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 2008 calendar year.

The award program includes categories for both processing facilities and trucking operations in the dairy industry. In addition to the 20 processing category award winners, IDFA awarded achievement certificates to 22 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 2008.

“We know that dairy companies and their employees are eager to participate in this award program year after year. We believe this continued positive response demonstrates a foundational commitment to worker safety within the dairy industry,” said Clay Detlefsen, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs. “We congratulate all of the participants on their hard work, dedication and outstanding 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.

IDFA will issue a call for nominations for the next Dairy Industry Safety Awards competition in early 2010.


2009 IDFA Plant Safety Category Award Winners

BGC Manufacturing, Dairy Plant, Tyler, Texas
BGC Manufacturing, Ice Cream Plant, Tyler, Texas
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Texas Operations, Houston
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Laurel Operations Center, Laurel, Md.
Dean Foods Co., Morningstar Foods, Sulphur Springs, Texas
Dean Foods Co. of California, Milk Plant, Buena Park, Calif.
Dean Foods Co. of California, Ice Cream Plant, Buena Park, Calif.
Dean Foods Co., Pet/Land-O-Sun Dairy, Baxley, Ga.
Foremost Farms USA, Clayton, Wis.
Foremost Farms USA, Wilson, Wis.
Foremost Farms USA, Sparta, Wis.
Kraft Foods N.A. Inc., Tulare, Calif.
The Kroger Co., Heritage Farms Dairy, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Kroger Co., Westover Dairy, Lynchburg, Va.
Hunter Farms/Harris Teeter, High Point, N.C.
National Dairy, Georgia Soft Serve Delights, Decatur, Ga.
O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc., Batavia, N.Y.
Pace Dairy Foods of Indiana, Crawfordsville, Ind.
Safeway Inc., Phoenix Ice Cream Plant, Phoenix
Swiss Premium Dairy, Lebanon, Pa.


2009 IDFA Trucking Safety Award Winners – Zero DART Rate

Dean Foods Co., Houston
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Great Falls, Mont.
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Rock Springs, Wyo.
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Richfield, Utah
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Price, Utah
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Logan, Utah
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Vernal, Utah
Dean Foods Co., Meadow Gold Dairies, Rawlins, Wyo.
Dean Foods Co., Oak Farms Dairy, Brenham, Texas
Dean Foods Co., Oak Farms Dairy, Sweeny, Texas
Dean Foods Co., Pet/Land-O-Sun Dairy, Bluefield, Va.
Dean Foods Co., Pet/Land-O-Sun Dairy, Forest, Va.
Dean Foods Co., Pet/Land-O-Sun Dairy, Jacksonville, N.C.
Dean Foods Co., T.G. Lee Dairy, Orlando, Fla.
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Denver/Utah Small Format ~ Denver
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Alaska Sales, Anchorage, Alaska
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Maryland Sales, Laurel, Md.
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Chicago/Milwaukee UDS, Glendale Heights, Ill.
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Atlanta/Alabama Sales, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Seattle/Portland Large Format Sales, Kent, Wash.
Heluva Good, Sodus, N.Y.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Eau Claire, Wis.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Paterson, N.J.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Brainerd, Minn.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Harahan, La.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, York, Pa.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, La Crosse, Wis.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Mason City, Iowa
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, St. Cloud, Minn.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Rochester, Minn.
HP Hood/Kemps LLC, Merrill, Wis.
Roberts Dairy Co., Norfolk, Neb.
Roberts Dairy Co., Scottsbluff, Neb.
Roberts Dairy Co., North Platte, Neb.
Roberts Dairy Co., Lincoln, Neb.
Roberts Dairy Co., Grimes, Iowa