March 30, 2023
For a second consecutive year, GSF’s Opelika, Alabama Protein Products manufacturing facility has secured the top level of achievement with a 2022 Safety Award of Honor from the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). Additionally, the Protein Products team earned its first environmental management system (EMS) honor from NAMI with a Tier 3 Environmental Achievement Award for 2022.
“The Opelika team’s NAMI recognitions in the areas of associate safety and EMS each represent key priority areas of our Protein Products operation and continuous improvement efforts,” said Wayne Morgan, GSF Corporate Vice President and President, Protein Products and Operations Support Services. “We commend the ongoing focus and dedication that Opelika associates have demonstrated each and every day to make these accomplishments possible.”
With four tiered levels of achievement, NAMI recognizes companies that go beyond environmental compliance by designing and successfully implementing an innovative plant upgrade or environmental program in the area(s) of water conservation, energy conservation, emissions reduction, technological innovation, and packaging and/or food waste reduction. Opelika’s award resulted from its Environmental Management System (EMS) initiatives, including key accomplishments in food waste reduction with about 89-90 percent of solid food waste diverted from the landfill for the majority of 2022 and in water conservation with 100 percent of water used in facility captured, cleaned and returned to the City of Opelika.
NAMI previously recognized GSF with the 2021 Safety Award of Honor, the 2020 Safety Award of Commendation and the 2019 Safety Certificate of Recognition. To determine which of its four recognition levels a meat production facility achieves, NAMI’s evaluation criteria include: beating the national industry standard for occupational injuries/illnesses, a safety and health program questionnaire, and an OSHA calculation of DART (Days Away, Restricted or Transferred) rates.