Say it ain’t so! Whole Foods Market, the top U.S. organic foods retailer, has announced a recall of all the fresh ground beef it sold between June 2 and August 6 due to potential E. coli contamination. This significant event threatens to undermine the promise of the Whole Foods brand – that is, consumers may pay more for its products but can expect food that is fresher, healthier, and safer in return.

Whole Foods said the ground beef in question came from Coleman Natural Beef, whose Nebraska Beef processing plant was previously subject to a nationwide recall for E. coli 0157:H7. The problem here isn’t just the contamination, but the fact that Coleman is the same source of ground beef for “ordinary” supermarkets that don’t present the same implied promise as the Whole Foods brand.

To protect its brand and preserve its differentiation in the marketplace, Whole Foods must act quickly and transparently, reassuring its customers that the quality of its food remains a cut above other supermarkets. So far, Whole Foods has stated that it has begun an internal investigation after receiving “assurances from Coleman Natural Beef that no product delivered to Whole Foods Market was linked to the (previous) recall of Nebraska Beef products.” But much more must be done to meet the expectations of Whole Foods customers.

1. First, Whole Foods needs to quickly acknowledge responsibility for the mishap and outline on its Website and in media statements the specific steps it is taking to ensure that such a recall doesn’t reoccur. It should assign responsibility for that effort to an individual from within the company – or bring in an outside expert for the job – and make that person known to its customers.

2. Second, Whole Foods needs to launch an aggressive blog campaign to counter the attacks that have surfaced in blog posts that note the alleged hypocrisy of Whole Foods by commenting on “how the mighty have fallen” and referring to the high prices at the supermarket known in some circles as “Whole Paycheck.”

3. And third, Whole Foods needs to identify and recruit third-party allies from among food-safety experts, suppliers, and public officials to defend the retailer in the news media and on the Internet. Right now, the terse public statements issued from its headquarters in Austin, Texas, aren’t reassuring to consumers who expect more from their favorite organic food retailer.

With so many food recalls occurring so often nowadays, these basic communications steps should be part of any crisis communications plan. But first, companies must recognize when they are in crisis. Erosion of your brand is the greatest business crisis of all.