Food Safety Stakes Raised
Be Prepared to Communicate
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1999--The stakes surrounding a product recall are extremely high and rising quickly.
Sara Lee Corporation, the parent of Bil Mar Foods, is facing precedent setting legal allegations of negligence. The charge arises out of a December 22, 1998 recall of hot dogs and other packaged meat products manufactured by Bil Mar Foods that allegedly could contain Listeria bacteria. This suit, regardless of its outcome, raises significantly the standard of responsibility to which companies will be held.
Sara Lee also faces a pre-tax charge of $50 million to $70 million in the second quarter, ending December 26, 1998 to cover the anticipated cost of the product recall.
These kinds of events carry the potential to start a chain of public events that can severely impact a company's reputation, bottom line and stock price. Every company needs to have a strategic communication plan in place to assure its critical audiences, internal and external, that it is in control of the situation, and that it is prepared to provide appropriate information and to respond to queries, including those from the media. This type of strategic communication will help to minimize damage, and will support any repair work that must be done.
''Every company, even if it has a crisis plan in place, must recognize that the standards to which it is being held are continually raising, and that it must react in an appropriate and timely manner. This case is raising the standards. It will have significant ramifications in the food industry to which every food company will have to respond. And successful response is achieved through effective communication,'' said Brian Delaney, Director of the Boston-based Clarke & Company Crisis communication Center. Delaney has worked on numerous food-related crisis during the past 12 years.
The Clarke & Company Crisis Team works directly with its clients to develop a specific, in-depth crisis plan that outlines step-by-step recommendations about how, when and what to communicate with all key audiences during any type of crisis that may arise. Of course, should a crisis arise, we are available to our clients 24-hours a day.
For more information, contact Vanessa Rugo, Esq. at (617) 536-3003 or by email at VRugo@Clarkeco.com. Please visit our website at Clarkecrisis.com. |
