Tainted food has claimed another victim--this time, the company that allegedly created the crisis. New Jersey-based meat processor Topps Meat Co.ceased business operations after a week-long crisis. Why?  Because the recent recall of more than 21 million pounds of its frozen hamburger patties led one senior company executive to conclude that his company could not 'overcome the economic reality of a recall this large'. Topps put a high-profile communications firm to work on the case several ... Read More

Before Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published in 1906, unsanitary and filth-infested meat packing was standard operating procedure. After the best-selling book, a repulsed nation made the meat packing industry a public target. The Food & Drug Administration was created. And the meat packing industry knew that they could never go back to the way they used to do things. The release of The Jungle proved to be the meat packing industry's 'tipping point'--the point when ... Read More

Today, I want to take a moment to provide some analysis on recent public apologies that fall on opposing edges of the apology spectrum. On the 'waited too long' end of the spectrum we have pro football player Michael Vick--nearly three months elapsed from the time that he was accused of illegal dog fighting until the time he actually issued an apology. And when he finally did apologize--virtually everyone saw it as too little too late. ... Read More

In reading the recent tragic news about the Crandall Canyon mine collapse in Utah, I was reminded of an editorial written in the West Virginia Gazette right after the Sago mine collapse. 'Mine Safety: Deaths Preventable' asserted that the Sago Mine tragedy '...was not a surprise--both because the mine had a disturbing safety record, and because the Bush administration in Washington has been undercutting mine safety.' The editorial concluded with a warning: 'The demand for coal is ... Read More

In America, there are two groups you just don't mess with: Our children and our pets. Both of these groups are seen as being vulnerable, helpless and in need of our protection. That's one of the reasons why the Vick story has sparked such vehement public outrage. And it's also why the recent Mattel toy recall has garnered emotional headlines. Allegations of lead-based paint in toys Mattel imported from China have caused everyone from moms to ... Read More

A quick thought about recent global news chronicling the ‘outbreaks’ of foot and mouth disease around the UK. In this case, ‘word of mouth’ is much more dangerous than ‘foot and mouth.’ When consumers hear ‘foot and mouth’, they immediately jump to ‘mad cow disease’ and then begin to panic. The reality is that the two are distinctly different. From a recent ENS story: The [UK] Health Protection Agency advises that foot and mouth disease is not ... Read More