Manufacturing plants have reduced accidents by 80 percent in last 10 years

CINCINNATI, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kroger Manufacturing, a division of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), has been recognized by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) for outstanding worker safety performance.

Kroger Manufacturing recently received six Worker Safety Awards from IDFA, a leading dairy industry manufacturing association. The Kroger-owned dairy plants were among a select group of facilities honored for having the best safety records among dairy processors based on 2007 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data.

    The Kroger facilities recognized are:
    -- Centennial Farms Dairy, Atlanta, Ga.
    -- Michigan Dairy, Livonia, Mich.
    -- Pace Dairy of Indiana, Crawfordsville, Ind.
    -- Riverside Creamery, Riverside, Calif.
    -- Vandervoort Dairy, Fort Worth, Texas
    -- Westover Dairy, Lynchburg, Va.

'We are committed to worker safety in all of our manufacturing operations,' said Calvin J. Kaufman, president of Kroger Manufacturing. 'We believe nothing we do is worth risking an injury, and we focus on training and teamwork to prevent accidents. We appreciate all of our associates who help make our plants safe places to work for themselves and their co-workers.'

During the last 10 years, Kroger Manufacturing has reduced accidents at its 41 U.S. facilities by 80 percent. So far in 2008, the company's dairy manufacturing facilities are on track to further improve their top-rated safety performance.

'We are pleased to honor Kroger Manufacturing for its excellent safety record,' said Clay Detlefsen, vice president of regulatory affairs for IDFA, which represents U.S. dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers. 'Kroger's performance in these and other dairy operations shows that their worker safety training is thorough, consistent and effective.'

Kroger Manufacturing operates 41 food processing plants in the U.S. that produce breads, dairy products, meat and thousands of grocery items for Kroger customers, including many of Kroger's corporate brand products such as its exclusive line of Private Selection(R) items available only in Kroger's family of stores. Kroger's 14 dairies, three ice cream plants and two cheese plants produce all varieties of fluid milk, fruit juices and other beverages, cultured products such as yogurt and sour cream, packaged cheese, and ice cream and novelty treats.

Kroger, one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains, is honored to celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2008. The Company's more than 320,000 associates serve customers in 2,476 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Fry's, King Soopers, Smith's, Dillons, QFC and City Market. Kroger associates also serve customers in 779 convenience stores, 393 fine jewelry stores and 737 supermarket fuel centers the Company operates. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger focuses its charitable efforts on supporting hunger relief, health and wellness initiatives, and local schools and grassroots organizations in the communities it serves. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at http://www.kroger.com .

SOURCE The Kroger Co.