Sandridge Food Corporation has been recognized by The Healthy Business Council of Ohio (HBCO) as a Platinum Award recipient for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to employee wellness through comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness programs. Sandridge Food Corporation is one of only three other Northeast Ohio companies to achieve a Platinum-level recognition.

Foster Farms is providing the Moderna vaccine to 1,000 employees at its Fresno, California, Cherry Avenue poultry facility. In partnership with Fresno County’s Public Health Department and Vons Pharmacy, this vaccination program marks the first large scale effort to vaccinate a workforce at a major food processing facility in Fresno County.

Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa looks back at the good and bad of an historic year for the cold chain, and what may lie ahead in 2021.

An independent investigation into alleged COVID-19 wagering by management at Tyson Foods’ pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa--allegedly betting on the number of plant employees that would contract coronavirus--has led to the termination of seven plant managers. 

Tyson Foods announced the appointment of Dr. Claudia Coplein to the newly-created role of Chief Medical Officer. Coplein is a physician executive who brings more than 20 years of healthcare experience to the company after holding leadership roles in the insurance, global manufacturing, healthcare and technology fields. Her immediate focus will be assisting the company’s efforts to protect team members during the Covid-19 pandemic, while also working to expand and promote a culture of health, safety and wellness at Tyson.

Today’s energy-efficient processing plants balance sustainable practices with energizing spaces to boost staff productivity.

Looking back on what we’ll call 2020 B.C. (Before Coronavirus), the pipeline for cold storage construction was already robust and healthy. According to research by commercial real estate firm CBRE, overall industrial construction—which encompasses cold storage, along with warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, self-storage, office and flex space—was at 298 million square feet (MSF) before COVID-19, bolstered by the ongoing rise of e-commerce. 

Foster Farms will close the main Livingston processing plant on Tuesday evening, September 1 and not resume operations until Monday evening, September 7.  During this downtime, the company will complete two rounds of deep cleaning and two rounds of COVID-19 testing covering all 1,400 plant employees. The testing program will ensure that all workers first reentering the plant on September 7 will be free of COVID-19. 

As part of its commitment to team member safety and continually evolving efforts to protect workers from COVID-19, Tyson Foods is launching a new, industry-leading monitoring program and expanding its occupational health staff, including a new chief medical officer position.

A multi-segment view of how those working along the cold chain have been affected by COVID-19 so far in 2020.