Social Sustainability:
Employee Safety

Ralcorp's position as an industry leader is made possible by the collaborative work of employees in each of our 39 locations. Providing the safest workplace environment possible for all employees is one of the most important things we do at Ralcorp. The safety of our employees and of our facilities impacts each employee personally, and impacts our business functions collectively.

Ralcorp has a centralized safety and loss prevention program that reaches all of our locations. Through this program’s extensive training and development components, we are able to focus on preventing injury and illness from occurring in the workplace. We apply best occupational health and safety practices to help guide our progress. Maintaining safe and healthy workplace environments enables Ralcorp to meet or exceed our legal compliance regulations and business objectives, delivering value for our shareholders. 

Ralcorp’s 2009 Safety Results

• Since last year, Ralcorp reduced its number of safety incidents by 35%.
• Ralcorp’s 2008-2009 days away, restricted and transferred (DART) rate was 2.9, versus an industry average of 4.4.
• Our Total Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Incidents rate for 2008-2009 was 3.9, versus an industry average of 6.8.

The DART and Total OSHA Incidents rates are computed using OSHA standards and are used to monitor trends in safety performance. These safety metrics reflect the performance of all Ralcorp divisions and locations, each also maintaining its own distinctive safety achievements.

Division Highlights

• Post Foods’ Jonesboro, AR facility recently achieved a major milestone of 17 years without a single lost time incident. The facility has been in operation for 17 years. 
• The Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products facility in Chicago, IL had zero DART cases in 2008 and in 2009.
• Ralcorp Snacks, Sauces, and Spreads’ facilities in Streator, IL and Minneapolis, MN each had zero DART cases in 2008 and in 2009.
• The Ralston Foods facility in Cedar Rapids, IA recently achieved a distinctive milestone of 1,000 days without a lost time accident. 

We strive for zero workplace injuries. In an effort to achieve that target, we set cascading safety goals allowing each division and its manufacturing facilities to set related goals for the year based on their comprehensive local analyses. Our safety performance is documented rigorously including overall results, risks, corrective actions, and status updates. All incidents, no matter how large or small, are investigated thoroughly and resolved.