On September 11th 2011, Cargill recalled an additional 185,000 pounds of ground turkey citing a potential contamination risk of Salmonella Heidelberg. This recall follows the previous massive recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey products on August 3rd. In our blog post discussing the first turkey recall we predicted that Cargill would meticulously invest in research and backtracking to understand how the contamination occurred. As predicted, Cargill has assembled an outside panel of experts to do this very thing. After discussing their already implemented food safety procedures Cargill states that, “we believe a panel of independent experts will be able to help us assess and validate the measures we’ve put in place.” The news release goes on to explain the reasoning behind the panel and the members of it:
• Dr. Michael Doyle, food microbiologist at the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety
• Barbara J. Masters, a former official with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and now senior policy advisor at Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz
• Dr. Craig W. Hedberg, a University of Minnesota epidemiologist
In our previous blog we also explained what lessons manufacturers should learn from these recalls. We encouraged companies to get organized, know their plans and think like a GPS. So how is Cargill doing in those areas? Much of it comes down to communication. Here’s why:
The test of a company’s post-recall success is largely calculated by the public’s reaction and scrutiny of the communication and tone that the company exudes during the recall. It’s the same in court. A defendant can be found “not guilty” by the jury but the public still hates them. Why does this happen? It has to do with the frequency of communication, tone of language, presence of leadership and “make it right” factor. In this regard Cargill is doing well. We have seen prompt and informative updates, helpful recall information, reassuring statements from leadership and a fairly solid “make it right” factor, which consists of the outside review board. Cargill receives high marks in this last area.
This is what we predicted would happen. To quote from our last post: “No amount of planning can account for everything and no one can oversee every inch of every facility at every second. Accidents happen and the unexpected will arise. Yet the difference between a little stress and an around-the-clock-nightmare comes when you’ve made preparations, done your homework, prepped your team, vetted your suppliers, and stayed on top of the regulations and rules.”
Stay tuned for more from Cargill as FDAImports.com continues to monitor developments.
SOURCES:
http://www.cargill.com/turkey-recall/ground-turkey-expert-panel/index.jsp
