Bonduelle and Fresh Express Locations Named 2024 CFS Gold Star Award Recipients

Commercial Food Sanitation is proud to announce four honorees as 2024 Gold Star Award winners: Bonduelle Irwindale, Bonduelle Swedesboro, Fresh Express Grand Prairie, and Fresh Express Streamwood. The award, given annually, recognizes production facilities that have demonstrated self-managed excellence in the areas of sanitation, hygienic design, and environmental pathogen control in the prior year.

For Bonduelle, this is the third consecutive year one of their facilities have received the award.

“At Bonduelle Americas, food safety is not just a priority, it’s a shared responsibility and a daily commitment to excellence across all our sites,” said Bobby Chacko, Bonduelle Americas' CEO. "We are incredibly proud that both our Irwindale and Swedesboro teams have earned the CFS Gold Star Award for 2024. This recognition reflects not only the rigor of our standards, but also our signature Bonduelle quality approach, which is anchored in proactive risk management, team ownership, and a culture of continuous improvement. We’re grateful to Commercial Food Sanitation for their continued partnership and recognition as we advance our mission to deliver safe, high-quality, plant-rich foods to our consumers.”

At Fresh Express, President John P. Olivo said the team believes in a comprehensive, systemwide prevention combined with diligence by well-trained teams to drive the food safety excellence needed to protect public health. He also added that the company has put an added emphasis on strengthening their company-wide food safety culture, which highlights the essential link between team engagement, continuous learning, and achieving exceptional sanitation performance.

“We are especially proud to announce that our Grand Prairie and Streamwood facilities have been named recipients of the 2024 CFS Gold Star Award, a prestigious honor recognizing exemplary commitment to sanitation best practices and continuous improvement,” said Olivo. “The award highlights the importance of always striving to exceed existing food safety standards. Being selected for this recognition is a reflection of the dedication and hard work of our entire Fresh Express family.”

Facilities receiving the award implemented programs and achieved expectations which demonstrated sustainable characteristics.  Their exemplary performance serves as an inspiration to the industry and sets a benchmark for excellence in the field.

"It’s a privilege to recognize these four Bonduelle Americas and Fresh Express facilities with our 2024 CFS Gold Star Award,” said Cari Rasmussen, Food Safety Director at CFS North America. “Food safety excellence requires an ongoing commitment from everyone across the organization, and all of our award winners exemplify that commitment to deliver safe food to all of us.”