It seems every day the news brings a harrowing story about another outbreak of listeriosis, salmonella or E-Coli in the food supply. The past few months, in particular, have been a trying time for the food industry as reports of illness and death have been unbridled. Whether the issue is with meat, baby formula or even pet food, food safety is no laughing matter. How your business handles a potential crisis can have dire consequences.
Naturally, the best way to manage a food safety crisis is to prevent it in the first place. Meeting and maintaining a very high level of safety standards set out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) should always be a top priority.
"Maple Leaf has been lauded by industry experts for its management of the crisis."
In the case of the Maple Leaf Food’s incident, which resulted in the massive recall of products from established brands, such as Shopsy’s, Schneiders and Maple Leaf, the company voluntarily closed its North York plant for nearly a month to investigate the cause of the outbreak. Since it reopened in mid-September 2008, test runs of products coming off the line have been more rigorous to ensure this tragic outbreak doesn’t occur again.
Maple Leaf has been lauded by industry experts for its management of the crisis. From the outset, president Michael McCain was front and center. Regular updates (through television commercials and full-page ads in national newspapers and magazines) were made to the public, alerting them of the actions being taken to solve the problem. The media blitz even included a message from McCain on a popular video sharing website.
Crisis communication plans are essential and should include who is responsible for which task (when and if a situation should arise). The plan should outline operational procedures, such as contact systems with a point person and how and what to communicate – and to whom.
All crises need a human face to relate to. Delivering key messages from a prominent spokesperson, like a company’s president or CEO, is key to assuaging the public’s potential panic over a crisis. In the case of Maple Leaf, McCain immediately informed the public of the company’s efforts to deal with the outbreak and, more importantly, apologized publicly to a very concerned nation. A genuine, hands-on and well-informed approach by high-level executives may well have saved the 100-year-old company from financial ruin.
Using suitable messaging is also key to successfully managing a food crisis. Be consistent in your approach and truthful.
For example, in a news release issued by Maple Leaf, McCain stated, “We know this has shaken consumer confidence in us. Our actions will continue to be guided by putting their interests first.”
For the ensuing days and in subsequent news releases, McCain continued with key messages that always put the best interests of the public health at the forefront.
A food crisis should not be managed by a legal department or by corporate council. Ensuring your business or establishment has a plan in place that involves a key spokesperson and includes key messages will help you manage a crisis (should one ever occur).
In all instances, Maple Leaf made the right moves to stem consumer fear about its brands and try to regain people’s trust. While the company faces a long road ahead, the handling of the crisis has demonstrated its high level of concern for its customers regardless of potential lawsuits or loss of revenue.
