SafetyChain Announces ChainReaction 2026 Award Winners, Recognizing Measurable Progress Across Food Manufacturing
More than 40 nominations made this year’s awards SafetyChain’s most competitive yet, with Driscoll’s and Perdue Foods sharing the Continuous Improvement honor.
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – October 22, 2026 – SafetyChain, the digital plant management platform for food and beverage manufacturers, has announced the winners of this year’s ChainReaction, the company’s sixth annual user conference. The awards recognized individuals and teams turning digital plant management into measurable improvements in audit readiness, connected operations, and organizational adoption.
With more than 40 nominations across seven categories, this year’s awards were the most competitive in SafetyChain’s history. Nominations came from executive sponsors, teammates, nominees themselves, and SafetyChain team members. A judging panel evaluated every entry against the same weighted rubric, considering both the results achieved and the work required to deliver them.
Measurable impact carried the greatest weight at 30%, followed by adoption depth at 25%, narrative strength at 20%, degree of difficulty at 15%, and breadth of engagement at 10%. The criteria rewarded documented improvements, sustained use of the platform, clear accounts of progress, challenges overcome, and participation across roles and teams.
“Behind every improvement on the plant floor are people who have put in the work to make it happen,” said Noah Logan, Chief Customer Officer at SafetyChain Software. “These awards recognize the administrator who helps colleagues get more from their tools, those that make audit readiness part of everyday work, and the teams whose continuous improvement efforts deliver sustainable financial gains. We wanted the judging to reflect that work, alongside the measurable results it delivers. Together, this year’s winners run SafetyChain across more than 60 plants and their global supplier networks, and their continuous improvement savings add up to millions of dollars. They give other manufacturers practical examples of what they can achieve.”
The 2026 ChainReaction award winners are:
Admin of the Year: Aaron Smith, Smithfield Foods
Smith was recognized as a standout individual driving excellence in the use of SafetyChain.
Smith was recognized as a standout individual driving excellence in the use of SafetyChain.
Plant Management Champion: Butterball
Butterball was recognized for connecting its live operations and processing data, bringing information from different parts of its vertically integrated business together to support plant management.
Butterball was recognized for connecting its live operations and processing data, bringing information from different parts of its vertically integrated business together to support plant management.
Audit of the Year: Bell & Evans
Bell & Evans earned the award for a strong, measurable improvement in audit scores and its work to make audit readiness part of the company’s culture.
Bell & Evans earned the award for a strong, measurable improvement in audit scores and its work to make audit readiness part of the company’s culture.
Comeback Kid: Lallemand
Lallemand was recognized for the organizational changes and leadership advocacy that helped align teammates and put its SafetyChain implementation on a stronger course. The award acknowledges the actions taken to rebuild momentum and support continued progress.
Lallemand was recognized for the organizational changes and leadership advocacy that helped align teammates and put its SafetyChain implementation on a stronger course. The award acknowledges the actions taken to rebuild momentum and support continued progress.
Continuous Improvement: Driscoll’s and Perdue Foods
Driscoll’s and Perdue Foods were named joint winners of the Continuous Improvement award, sharing the honor in this year’s most competitive field of nominations.
Driscoll’s and Perdue Foods were named joint winners of the Continuous Improvement award, sharing the honor in this year’s most competitive field of nominations.
Rookie of the Year: Newly Weds Foods
After attending last year’s conference as a prospective customer, Newly Weds Foods returned as a customer and award winner.
After attending last year’s conference as a prospective customer, Newly Weds Foods returned as a customer and award winner.
Team of the Year: Westrock Coffee Company
Westrock Coffee Company received numerous nominations across multiple categories, reflecting the breadth of its team’s contributions and its well-rounded approach to digital plant management.
Westrock Coffee Company received numerous nominations across multiple categories, reflecting the breadth of its team’s contributions and its well-rounded approach to digital plant management.
Formerly known as the SafetyChain Summit, ChainReaction 2026 brought together food safety, quality, operations, and manufacturing leaders under the theme “Lead with Insight. Scale with Confidence.” The program included a keynote from former FDA leader Alan Tart and customer-led sessions focused on operator buy-in, production performance, training competency, supplier compliance, and connected plant systems.
SafetyChain will also develop a spotlight case study for every nominee, capturing the work that made each a contender and giving the wider customer community more examples of how manufacturers are putting digital plant management into practice.
About ChainReaction
ChainReaction is SafetyChain's annual conference for food and beverage manufacturing professionals, bringing together customers, industry experts, and technology leaders to share practical strategies for improving food safety, quality, compliance, and operational performance.
About SafetyChain
SafetyChain is the plant management platform for food and beverage manufacturers, providing tools for quality, food safety, production, maintenance, and supplier compliance. The platform connects plant-floor execution with the broader systems manufacturers rely on, supporting operations from a single facility to multi-site enterprise environments.
