Case of Nutritional Foods

INTRODUCTION

Many companies have issues that have need of public relations assistance at one time or another. Yet comparatively few companies have strategies in place for handling these eventualities, and many companies experience considerably more harm than might otherwise be necessary because they have not planned for the crisis. When the crisis is of an ethical nature, the importance of building and maintaining an ethical work environment becomes apparent. Certain products are particularly susceptible to a rapid loss of public trust due to their nature, food products are unquestionably among these. Consumers expect their food to be safe, and can be hesitant to return to a food manufacturer once a problem has been discovered and traced to that manufacturer. This is the situation that faces Nutritional Foods, and the steps that the company takes in the aftermath of a possible poisoning case could determine the success of the company's future.

CASE OVERVIEW

Nutritional Foods is facing perhaps the most difficult crisis that a company in its industry can face, the possible poisoning of consumers, including kids. Upon receiving the original reports, the company sent two managers to the two counties where the problems were reported. When two additional problems were reported in two added counties, the company sent managers to those counties, as well. The company sought as much information as possible, including batch numbers of the products in question. At 7pm of the same day that the problems were reported, the company announced that it was pulling all batches of the product in question from retail shelves, this announcement resulted in another 50 calls reporting poisonings, only five of which came from health care professionals. The company also convened its Crisis Action Committee the morning after the first report, and now is considering what additional steps it should take in light of these events.

ETHICAL DILEMMA/ISSUE

Fred James, CEO of fresh juice producer Nutritional Foods, receives reports of poisonings that might be traced to his company's apple products. Having clear knowledge that handling of nonpasteurized products is critical, product distribution is critical, and continued growth and success are dependent on consumer acceptance, I would have previously developed contingency plans to address the likelihood of dilemmas cropping up in these three areas. If I were the CEO of Nutritional Foods and my company, my company's integrity, and my own integrity were potentially on the line, I would immediately institute a proactive philosophy. Once it became clear that Nutritional Foods products were indeed the culprits in the current poisonings, I would pull all products from store shelves until the investigation determined the exact cause, and I would call a news conference