WASHINGTON – Representatives of the National Chicken Council (NCC), USPOULTRY and the National Turkey Federation (NTF) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formalized a relationship to raise awareness of health and safety practices and programs for poultry workers.

As part of the collaboration, the poultry groups and OSHA will share injury, illness and hazard exposure data in order to identify areas of emphasis for training, outreach and communication activities.

Loren Sweatt, deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, Mike Brown, president of the NCC, Joel Brandenberger, president of the National Turkey Federation and Matt Spencer, director of HR & safety programs for the US Poultry & Egg Association, signed an alliance in Washington, DC on Sept. 4, formalizing the partnership.

“The group of poultry industry representatives discussed the industry’s recent history of safety and health initiatives including the industry’s ergonomics, medical and training approach to reducing repetitive injuries, advancements in processing equipment technology, current on-going research and employee outreach activities,” the groups said. “These combined activities have resulted in an 83 percent reduction in recordable injuries in poultry processing plants since 1994.”