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SALISBURY, MD – At the recent 2024 National Safety Council event for the Poultry Industry in Destin, Florida, Perdue’s Lewiston plant in North Carolina was honored with the prestigious Award of Distinction, the highest safety honor awarded by the Council.

In all, five Perdue Foods processing facilities and seven additional facilities received the Award of Distinction, the most awards of any member company.

“At Perdue Farms, the well-being and safety of our associates is our top priority,” stated Brandon Bottorff, Director of Operations at the Lewiston plant. “When we begin a shift, every conversation starts with safety. It’s not only the goal of our management team to consider safety first, but it’s also a core value for any job we conduct.

“Also, our management team empowers every associate to stop any unsafe act or refuse to perform any act they feel is unsafe, without fear of reprisal. By doing this, it helps foster a culture where safety is paramount in every aspect of our operations,” Bottorff added.

In total, Perdue Foods’ facilities across 15 states took home 39 Safety and Health Council Awards.

To qualify for an Industry Safety and Health Award, facilities must maintain their key Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety metrics — Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) — at levels lower than the industry average for three consecutive years. Additionally, facilities cannot have a severe injury or fatality (SIF) during the award period.

The OSHA metric ultimately determines only 40% of the application score. An independent panel of judges score of each facility’s written explanation of its safety programs and processes comprises the majority (60%) of the award consideration. This year only 60 facilities (25%) of 244 facilities in four categories achieved a total score above 90 and the Award of Distinction.

The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council comprises members from the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council and National Turkey Federation. Combined, these three organizations represent companies that produce 95 percent of the nation’s poultry products and employ more 350,000 workers.