NSF Cook & Thurber Joins Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards

ATLANTA ¡V Orkin Commercial Services announced that NSF Cook & Thurber has joined the Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards as a co-presenter. Sponsored by Orkin, The IPM Institute of North America and NSF Cook & Thurber, the annual awards honor facilities that excel at Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

As a leading provider of food safety services to the food, beverage, animal feed and packaging industries, NSF Cook & Thurber brings a valuable auditor¡¦s perspective to the program. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., NSF Cook & Thurber provides its services to more than 5,000 clients.

¡§Comprehensive pest management is an integral part of a sound food safety program,¡¨ said Jim Bail, NSF Cook & Thurber Assistant Director Food Processor Programs, who joins the Awards Jury for the first year. ¡§NSF Cook & Thurber is proud to partner with Orkin and The IPM Institute of North America to recognize those facilities that take their food safety and pest management efforts so seriously.¡¨

12 U.S. Facilities Selected as Awards Finalists
This year, Orkin, The IPM Institute of North America and NSF Cook & Thurber selected 12 U.S. finalists from an elite group of nominees that employ Orkin¡¦s most rigorous IPM service offering, Gold Medal Protection, which emphasizes quality assurance and pest control documentation.

All nominees show an outstanding dedication to IPM, an approach to pest management that stresses all available methods of control to help minimize pesticide use. This year¡¦s finalists demonstrate their commitment to IPM and to their partnership with Orkin through:

„X vigilant sanitation,

„X regular and accurate documentation,

„X prompt adherence to structural recommendations, and

„X staff participation in IPM training sessions.

¡§The Gold Medal Awards are all about partnership,¡¨ said Orkin Director of Quality Systems Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D. ¡§These finalists consistently go above and beyond to keep up their end of their IPM programs.¡¨

The 2007 Gold Medal IPM Partner Award finalists are:

„X Alcan Packaging (Milwaukee, Wis.) ¡V A world leader in specialty packaging serving the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, beauty, and tobacco markets.

„X Andes Candies (Delavan, Wis.) ¡V Manufacturers of a variety of boxed and bagged candy products.

„X Avgol Nonwoven Inc. (Mocksville, N.C.) ¡V A subsidiary of Avgol Industries, Avgol Nonwoven Inc. is a leading producer of lightweight, non-woven materials for use in hygiene items such as disposable baby and adult diapers and a variety of feminine hygiene products.

„X Barry Callebaut (Saint Albans, Vt.) ¡V The world¡¦s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa, chocolate and confectionery products.

„X Case Farms, Inc. (Winesburg, Ohio) ¡V A poultry plant.

„X The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Incorporated (Calabasas Hills, Calif.) ¡V The leading manufacturer of fine-baked desserts. Provides more than 50 varieties of its signature cheesecakes and other baked desserts to The Cheesecake Factory restaurants, as well as a variety of products to the wholesale club segment, retail markets and foodservice distributors.

„X Cloverland Farms Dairy (Baltimore, Md.) ¡V Producers of dairy and juice products.

„X Corn Products (Bedford Park, Ill.) ¡V The world's largest manufacturer of dextrose and a leading supplier of starches, sweeteners and other ingredients.

„X Farbest Brands (Plain City, Ohio) ¡V Custom manufacturer of liquid and dry products and distributor of specialty food ingredients.

„X Momence Packing (Momence, Ill.) ¡V Meat packing and processing plant.

„X Morton Salt Company (South Hutchinson, Kan.) ¡V America's leading producer of salt for grocery, water softening, ice control, agricultural and industrial uses.

„X Sara Lee Foodservice (Harahan, La.) ¡V A leading supplier of coffee and tea products to a broad base of foodservice operators throughout North America.

¡§IPM is the key to pest management success in sensitive food processing environments,¡¨ explained Thomas Green, Ph.D., President of The IPM Institute of North America, Inc. ¡§These finalists take their commitment to IPM and food safety very seriously, and it shows.¡¨

Judges for the 2007 Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards include:

„X Jim Bail, Assistant Director Food Processor Programs, NSF Cook & Thurber

„X Austin Frishman, Ph.D., B.C.E., Founder and President of AMF Pest Management Services, Inc.

„X Thomas A. Green, Ph.D., President of The IPM Institute of North America, Inc.

„X Frank Meek, B.C.E., Technical Director, Orkin, Inc.

„X Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D., B.C.E., Director of Quality Systems, Orkin, Inc.

Award winners will be announced in September, and award presentations will be conducted on-site at the winning facilities. Case studies on each of the winners will be posted at www.orkincommercial.com.