Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry: A Practical Approach (Practical Approaches to Food Control and Food Quality Series)

270 Pages·2005·1.73 MB·English

by  Colin Doeg

Crisis Management in the
Food and Drinks Industry
Second edition
Crisis
Management
in the Food
and Drinks
Industry
A practical approach
Second Edition

Colin Doeg
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Doeg,Colin.
Crisismanagementinthefoodanddrinksindustry:apracticalapproach/
byColinDoeg.—2nded.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-387-23382-2
1.Foodindustryandtrade—Management. 2.Beverageindustry—Management.
3.Crisismanagement. I.Title.
HD9000.5.D5972005
664(cid:1).0068(cid:1)4—dc22
2004065092
AC.I.P.CataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress.
ISBN0-387-23382-2

(cid:2)C2005SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,Inc.
Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthe
writtenpermissionofthepublisher(SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,Inc.,233SpringStreet,
NewYork,NY10013,USA),exceptforbriefexcerptsinconnectionwithreviewsorscholarly
analysis.Useinconnectionwithanyformofinformationstorageandretrieval,electronic
adaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafter
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theyaresubjecttoproprietaryrights.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
springeronline.com
Contents
Serieseditor’sforeword ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Preface xv
1 Theanatomyofacrisis 1
2 Protectingyourbrandsandreputation 11
2.1 Designinghazardsoutofasystem 16
2.2 Needforriskassessmentprocedures 19
2.3 Benefitsof‘duediligence’ 20
2.4 Marketersbeware 20
2.5 Benefitsofcorporatecitizenship 21
3 Preparingfortheunthinkable 23
3.1 Threatstotakeintoaccount 24
3.2 Firsthintofaseriousproblem 26
3.3 Sourcesofhelpandadvice 28
3.4 Checklistforcrisisteam 30
3.5 Nomagicsolutions 32
3.6 Crisis,whatcrisis? 33

3.7 Feelandinstinct 34
4 TheInternet—atwo-edgedsword 37
5 Tacticstoavoidbeingcaughtoff-guard 49
6 Producttampering—aconstantthreat 57
6.1 Keepingissuesinperspective 58
7 Issuestrackingandmanagement 65
7.1 Anorchestratedcampaign 66
7.2 Asuspectingredient 68
7.3 Puttingmattersinperspective 70
v
vi Contents
8 Meetingthemedia 73
8.1 Presentationskills 76
8.2 Reactingtoaproblem 77
8.3 Opportunitiesandpitfalls 77
8.4 Videonewsreleases 90
8.5 Videobites 91
8.6 Keepingissuesinperspective 91
9 DoIneedhelp? 93
10 Sourcesoftechnicalhelp 99
11 Thepowersofenforcementauthorities 105
12 Managingacrisis 113
12.1 Immediateactions 114
12.2 Isapublicrecallreallynecessary? 115
12.3 Directingmediaenquiries 116
12.4 Bewareofthisinformationchannel 117
12.5 Preparingamediastatement 118
12.6 Going‘live’ 120
12.7 Bepreparedfor‘thetreatment’ 122
12.8 Aimtopreventproblemescalating 122
12.9 Rememberyourcustomers 122
12.10 Employeescanbeyourbestambassadors 123
12.11 Acceptthequirksoffate 123
12.12 Keepmediacoverageinperspective 123
12.13 Fixingtheblame 124
12.14 Insurancecover 125
12.15 Selectionofcrisisleaderandteam 125
12.16 Othertypesofcrises 126
13 Dietandhealth 129
13.1 Arefishac risiswaitingtosurface? 136
14 Problemsfacingthefoodindustry 143
14.1 Unfitmeatispersistentproblem 148
14.2 NewmemberstatesposeproblemforEU 153
15 Dealingwithextremistorganizationsandterroristthreats 155
16 Bioterrorism—aclearandpresentdanger 167
17 Significantcrises 175
17.1 Thecompanythatsetthestandard 175
17.2 Thecompanythatfoughtback 177
17.3 Anatomyofacrisis 185
Contents vii
17.4 Thescandalthatsuckedinanindustry 186
17.5 Thecrisisthatwasdescribedasawake-upcallfor
meatindustry 188
18 Interestingcasehistories 193
18.1 Thecrisisthatbroughtdownagovernment 193
18.2 ThecrisisthatravagedtheFarEast 197
18.3 Thecrisisthattookthefizzoutofasoft-drinksgiant 200
18.4 Thefiascothathumiliatedagovernment 202
18.5 Acrisisthatfoundagovernmentwanting 204
18.6 Thecrisisthatwasunique 212
18.7 Acrisisdelayedbycircumstances 214
18.8 Redalert 215
18.9 Alessoninprotection 216
18.10 TheSpanishcookingoilscandal 217
18.11 Yepowersofentry 218
19 Eventsthatwillshapethefuture 219
19.1 World’sbiggestfoodrecall? 219
19.1.1 Factsbehindillegaldye 220
19.1.2 Sudan1timeline 224
19.2 Newbirdfluoutbreakssparkfearsofpandemic 226
19.3 DisasterinwhichtheInternetandpeople’sinitiative
weresupreme 229
19.4 Uniquelawsforcemercurywarning 232
19.5 EndforGMcropsintheUK? 233
19.6 NewphenomenonappearsonInternet 233
AppendixA: Typicalcrisisplan 235
AppendixB: Typicalcrisischecklist 239
AppendixC: TypicalpressreleaseandQuestionandAnswerSheet 241
AppendixD: Typicalpressadvertisement 245
AppendixE: Modelannouncementtoemployees 249
AppendixF: Threat eningphonecall:checklist 251
AppendixG: Sourcesofinformationandassistance 253
Glossaryoffrequentlyusedabbreviations 259
Index 261
Series editor’s forward
ThefirsteditionofthisbookwasthesecondinourseriesofPracticalApproaches,
and deals with a subject which had received relatively little attention in the
technicalliterature,despitethepotentiallyhorrendousconsequencesthatcan
occurasaresultofacrisissituationnotbeinghandledasprofessionallyasit
might.
Clearly,thosewhoweretheninvolvedinacrisismightnotparticularlyhave
wishedtoberemindedofitfromthecommercialangle,norwouldtheyhave
wishedtorevealtheirdefensessofarastheirtechnologywasconcerned.
That was in 1994, and things have certainly changed in the intervening
decade,althoughmostoftheprinciplesofcompetenttechnicalandbusiness
managementhadalreadybeenwrittendown,evenifnotundulypublicized.
However,aswaspreviouslysaid,experienceisinvaluable,andtheauthor
and editor therefore set out to give the reader the atmosphere of and back-
ground to reported crises, to provide guidance on developing a procedure
forhandlingacrisisinone’sownbusiness,andtogiveappropriatepointsof
referencetoprofessionalhelpandsupport.
Itmayappearthattheemphasishasbeengiventoterrorismoutsideofdirect
interesttothefoodanddrinkindustry.However,notonlyaretherelessonsto
belearnedfromobservingsuchactivitieselsewhere,butalsotheymayhave
directeffects—suchasdisruptionofwaterorenergysupplies.Theymayalso

haveindirecteffectsasaresultofthedirecteffectstheycouldhaveonsuppliers
ofrawmaterials,bothingredientsandpackagingmaterials.
Whatdoesneedtobeemphasizedisthewayinwhichvariouscriseshave
arisen over the subsequent period, the divergent motivations and circum-
stances from which they might arise, and the on-going need to ensure, in
dealingwithanyspecificsituation,thatthoseinvolvedrecognizeeachother’s
disciplines and work effectively as a team. Those in such a team must have
confidenceinthecapabilityandreliabilityofoneanother.
Tothefoodtechnologistorscientist,thebookmaybeunusualinthatitis
written by someone who is fundamentally a media/PR person rather than
anacademicortechnocrat.Theliterarystyleisfarfromclassicaltechnology
textbook,butratherencapturesthatwithwhichonecouldbeexpectedtobe
confronted,andmaywellneedtouseinareal-lifecrisis.
ix
x Serieseditor’sforeword
As editor, I should say that I have had the privilege of working with the
authorforatleastthirtyyears.Wehavenotalwaysseeneyetoeye,hewanting
to simplify the most complex of technical issues to the popular media ‘one-
liner’or‘sound-bite’,whileIhavewantedtoqualifyorreferenceeverything
severely.Thathasnotstoppedusandourcolleaguesfromdevelopingsome
veryeffectiveandsensiblerelationshipsandapproaches.
Afternewspaperexperience,ColinDoegwentintopublicrelations,work-
ingforseveral‘bluechip’companiesindifferentindustriesaswellasatrade
association.
Duringhisyearsinpublicrelations,hehadseencrisismanagementdevelop
into a specialized skill in its own right, especially in the food industry. He
hasalsobeeninvolvedinemployeecommunicationsandtheintroductionof
culturalchangetoanorganizationaswellaslaunching,editingorworkingon
anumberofaward-winningemployeepublications.
Perhaps,IoughtnottosaythatColinisanenthusiasticunderwaterphotog-
rapher,andremainsaverykeencyclist.
Inthispublication,wehavetriedtopackinasmuchaspossiblefromreal-
life situations. To some extent, although filled with urgency at the time that
acrisisarises,managementofsuchsituationshashadarepetitiveelementin
thetemporalscenario.Wehavetriedtocontinuetobuildupforthereadera
‘feel’forpotentialcrisissituationsthathistoricallyhaveonlybeenbornoutof
experience or very explicit training. Hence, we have tried to provide exam-
ples from some of the recorded experiences via the written word wherever
possible.
As a food technologist myself, and despite having worked with the au-
thor over a number of years, many of the revelations about the media and
itsspeedofresponseanddeadlinescontinuetoamazeme.Forexample,be-
foreweproducedthefirstedition,Ihadneverrealizedthattheearlyeditions
ofSundaynewspapersintheUnitedKingdomgotoprintonSaturdayafter-
noons,hadnotfullyappreciatedtheexpansionofsatellitecommunications,or
thattheinspiredandwell-informedcommentsofcommentatorsateventslike
theOlympicGamesflowfromthescreensofanelaboratenetworkoflaptop
computers.
Thereislittledoub tthatthoseconcernedfortheirbusinesseswhoreadthis
bookwillreapbenefit.Thepreciseextentofthatbenefitwilldependuponthe
sizeandnatureofthebusiness,theactualdegreeofriskofacrisisarising,and
the extent to which that organization may already have crisis management
systemsinplace.
I suspect that there will be much of value in the book for everyone and a
verygreatdealforthosewhohavenotpreviouslyhadtheneedorinclination
toaddresssuchpotentialproblemareas.
Thecontactpointsandreferencestosourcesofhelpandinformationalone
should justify attention. On HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Pointsystem),wedonotmanagewithinastaticenvironment,andfeedback
from readers on scope, content, omissions and potential inclusions will be
welcomed.
Serieseditor’sforeword xi
ThispublicationhasfittedcomfortablywithinthePracticalApproaches,aswe
hadenvisaged,andprovidesausefulextensiontothedatabasethatwewant
toprovideanditspotentialinterfacewithadjacentdisciplines.
ProfessorKeithAnderson
January2005
Acknowledgements
By the very nature of the issues involved, the specialists who thrive on the
challengesandpressuresofcrisismanagementarereticentaboutmuchofthe
information and knowledge they possess. In the wrong hands that could be
athreattotheveryorganizationsitismeanttoprotect.Therefore,inevitably,
muchoftheworldofcrisismanagementisconcealedbehindaveilof‘com-
mercialsecurity’.
However, if you survive a baptism of fire by product recall or tampering
and become an accepted member of that network, you can have access to a
wealthofmutualhelpandsupport.Aseriousproblemcantemporarilyunite
companiesthataretraditionallyfiercerivalsinthemarketplace.Thepublic
relationsmanagersandfoodtechnologistsofbusinessesnormallyopposedto
each other will band together to offer their experience and skills in dealing
withmanyproblems,eventotheextentofwarningeachotherofpitfallsthey
experiencedwhenfacedwithasimilardifficulty.
One of the pleasures of writing the first edition of this book was the op-
portunitytomeetmanymoremembersofthatcommunityandtoenjoytheir
enthusiasmandinterestinsuchaspecializedsubject.They,morethananyone,
would have appreciated the fact that, while I gratefully acknowledged their
generoushelp,Imentionedveryfewbyname!
Muchofthecontactinthepreparationofthesecondeditionhasbeenviathe

Internet but now that crisis management has become a much greater global
issue,itisnotpossibletomeetasmanypeoplefacetoface.Sadly,akeyboard
andanISPhavehadtotaketheplaceofpersonalcontactbutthat,initself,isa
measureofthechangingworldinwhichweliveandoperate.Inthatrespect,
Ithankthosewhorespondedtomye-mailsandalsotothegovernmentsand
otherorganizationsthathavecreatedsuchusefulwebsites.
Asever,oneoftheover-ridingconcernsKeithAndersonandIhavealways
hadinconnectionwithabookdealingwiththissubject,isthatitmightcontain
too much information, and so help some very undesirable members of the
community.
Forthatreason,forexample,referenceismadetoforeignbodiesorobjects
but seldom to the specific items involved to discourage ‘copy-cat’incidents.
xiii