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From left to right: Jeff Musselewhite, Parimal Patel, Tammy Smith and Norman Fisher

C. Larry Pope, President and Chief Operating Officer of Smithfield Foods, Inc. speaking at ISO 14001 luncheon.

Front Row Seated (from Left) Phillip Manning - Project Engineer, Ed Tate - Utilities Manager, John Armstrong - Plant Engineer, Lloyd Hester - Maintenance Planner, Parimal Patel - PSM/RMP Manager, Teri Beard - HRSI Manager (Human Recourses), Tammy Smith - EMS Coordinator, Tracy Rickel - Clerical Support. Back Row Standing (from Left) Bill Gill - Asst. VP of Env. Affairs, Delbert Hudson - Safety Manager, Robert Claiborne - 3rd Shift Superintendent, Geno Kerns - Asst. Plant Manager 2nd shift, Susie Jackson - Purchasing/Sanitation Manager - no longer with the company, Charles Fiero - Wastewater Manager, Larry Johnson - VP of Fresh Pork Operations, Jeff Musselwhite - Env. Coordinator, Larry Pope - President/COO of Smithfield Foods Inc., Bobby Scales - Rendering Manager, Dennis Treacy - VP of Env. Community, and Government Affairs, Michael Michel - QA Lab Manager, Jere Null - Senior VP, Smithfield, Norman Fisher - VP of Env. Affairs and Fleet Safety

Dennis Treacy and Lloyd Hester, Smithfield Packing's Maintenance Planner, shake hands on it.

Consistent with the Smithfield Foods’ policy of Environmental Initiatives, Smithfield Packing Company’s Tar Heel processing plant has received its certification as an ISO 14001 facility. This plant is not only the largest fresh meat processing plant in the country, but also the first plant of this type to receive this certification.

The Environmental Management System (EMS) for this facility was created, implemented, and recommended for registration in less than one year’s time, which is an outstanding achievement for a facility of this size and complexity. The team (Norman Fisher, Parimal Patel, Tammy Smith and Jeff Musselewhite) who were charged with the implementation of the EMS at Tar Heel listed the following items as critical to the programs success:

• Management Commitment
• Employee Involvement and Ownership of the Program
• Cross Functional Involvement in Implementation and Continued Effectiveness
• Commitment to Continual Improvement

This effort is indicative of the commitment, which exists throughout Smithfield Foods, to go beyond compliance and to be an environmentally responsible corporation. The success of Tar Heel’s certification will serve as a model for effectiveness as Smithfield Foods seeks to obtain registration at all of its facilities.

Implementation of an Environmental Management System consists of more than writing procedures. It involves stating facility objectives, creating procedures to achieve the objectives, demonstrating that procedures are being followed and a continuous review of the program for possible improvements. The EMS at the Tar Heel Plant is exceptional and demonstrates the company’s environmental commitment that led to its development.

Tar Heel’s overall EMS includes an organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy.

Benefits of ISO 14001 include increased Management and Employee Awareness, a proactive rather than reactive stance on environmental issues, better prioritization of the company’s environmental efforts, improved environmental performance, pollution prevention and conservation, increased efficiency and reduced costs.

The EMS Team at the Tarheel facility held meetings every other week where responsible persons with EMS Tasks and/or EMS Team responsibilities provided updates. Tar Heel’s “Go Live” date was September 29th 2003. From that date, it became necessary to make sure that all documents and any related information were in order according to the ISO 14001 Standard.

The Phase 1 Audit or Readiness Review occurred on February 5th and 6th at the Tar Heel plant. The purpose of this audit was to determine registration readiness. The Auditor, Neal Cormany of NSF-ISR, evaluated our program by examining training documents, logs, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and other pertinent documentation relevant for ISO 14001 Registration.

The Phase 2 registration audit at the Tarheel plant was conducted March 1st thru March 4th, 2004 by Neal Cormany (Lead Auditor) and Chuck Lee. Upon reviewing and conducting a three and one-half day audit, Mr. Cormany stated that Tar Heel’s EMS Program was not only the largest he had ever audited, but also the best prepared. Consequently, Smithfield Packing Company’s Tar Heel Plant received its ISO 14001 Certification.