The Joint Poultry Industry Safety & Health Council recognized a record 272 chicken and turkey facilities for outstanding safety performance at the 2026 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry in Destin, Fla. The facilities were honored for their commitment to employee safety and health through the implementation of innovative and effective programs.

Award consideration was based on injury statistics from a three-year period (2023–2025) and a review of written applications evaluated by academic and industry safety experts.

This year, 81 facilities earned the highest level of recognition, the Award of Distinction, which honors facilities that demonstrate excellence in safety and health training, education and employee involvement and that maintain injury and illness rates at least 75% lower than the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) averages.

One hundred and thirteen facilities received the Award of Honor, recognizing the same core safety principles with incident rates between 75% and 50% lower than BLS results. An additional 78 facilities received the Award of Merit, which recognizes facilities with rates between 50% lower and equal to BLS results.

“Safety is not simply a metric, a program or something we measure at the end of the year. It is a responsibility we share every day, and it is reflected in how we work and how we care for the people who do that work,” said Rick Hellinga, senior director of Safety, Health and Loss Prevention at Simmons Foods and chair of the Joint Poultry Industry Safety & Health Council. “Recognizing a record 272 facilities this year is an outstanding achievement. More importantly, it reflects the poultry and egg industry’s continued commitment to putting people first and creating workplaces where working safely is simply how we work.”

The Joint Industry Safety & 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% of the nation's poultry products and directly employ more than 350,000 workers.