Will Taking Liverwurst Off the Menu, Closing a Plant, and Enlisting Food Safety Advisors Be Enough to Save the Brand?
9/17/24 – – Beleaguered Boar’s Head, reeling from a deadly listeria outbreak in its liverwurst, is not going down without a fight. The 119-year-old purveyor of delicatessen meats, cheeses and condiments announced on Friday that it will “permanently discontinue” liverwurst and “indefinitely close” its plant where the outbreak occurred.
A personal note: I permanently discontinued liverwurst from my diet in third grade after my mother placed a liverwurst sandwich in my lunch box. I took one bite and thought she had mistakenly spread cat food on my Wonder Bread. I’ve never eaten it again, with or without Wonder Bread.
I’m sure Boar’s Head would not appreciate my making light of its predicament. The company is taking this survival-threatening crisis very seriously and responding with meaningful actions and reforms worthy of respect and review.
Identifying the Problem and Cutting Losses
In a message addressed to “Our Valued Consumers,” Boar’s Head reported on the work it’s been doing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to learn what happened and provided an update on the decisive action the company has taken in response:
“First and foremost, our investigation has identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that only existed at the Jarratt facility and was used only for liverwurst. With this discovery, we have decided to permanently discontinue liverwurst . . . Given the seriousness of the outbreak, and the fact that it originated at Jarratt, we have made the difficult decision to indefinitely close this location.”
From a crisis-response perspective, these revelations and decisions deserve high marks:
- Being able to assure retailers and consumers that the company and USDA know the exact cause of the outbreak is comforting. Uncertainty creates fear that bad things will keep happening, delaying crisis resolution.
- Making a futile attempt to win back trust in Boar’s Head liverwurst would distract from the larger imperative of saving the brand’s 70 other products.
- Continuing media coverage of the Jarratt, Virgnia, plant’s abysmal safety/health record made the decision easy to cease operations there. Boar’s Head has other facilities in Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, New York and Arkansas (hopefully in better operating condition).
Operating With a Long View
Another indication of how serious Boar’s Head is about preserving its reputation is the way it is treating the 500 employees affected by the plant closure. Given the crushing financial impact of this crisis – 7 million pounds of product had to be recalled, lawsuits are being filed by people sickened and killed, and sales may never recover – you might expect massive job terminations with minimal or no severance support.
But in an interview with The New York Times, Jonathan Williams, communications director for the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400, confirmed that the company is “providing severance packages and relocation to the employees,” giving plant workers “the option to continue to work at the other Virginia processing center that the company operates or to transfer to others.”
Heightened Safety Focus and Third-Party Oversight
Aware that “business as usual” will be unacceptable to delicatessen owners, consumers and regulators, Boar’s Head also announced some important food safety and quality control reforms. A new Chief Food Safety & Quality Assurance Officer will report directly to Boar’s Head’s president, and a “Boar’s Head Food Safety Council” has been established, made up of “independent industry-leading food safety experts.” The resumes of four impressive members with PhDs and lots of industry and USDA experience were shared in the message to customers.
Boar’s Head is promising that the new executive and council will, “develop an industry-leading program that addresses food safety standards and strengthens a culture of food safety throughout the supply chain.”
Recovery Requires Time and Performance
So, now that Boar’s Head has apologized, recalled the tainted product, reimbursed consumers, identified the cause of the outbreak, discontinued liverwurst, closed the filthy plant, brought on food safety experts to help clean up its act, and pledged to do better, are you ready to buy their products again?
Even after all of that, your answer is probably “no” or “not yet.”
That’s because recovering from a reputational crisis of this magnitude requires the critical elements of time and performance. The length of time required to earn forgiveness depends on the severity of the sin. And those who have been hurt or betrayed want to see that the offending party has carried out promised reforms and performed at a level equal to or better than before the crisis.
Business and communications schools are already developing case studies on the “Boar’s Head Liverwurst Crisis.” The primary focus will be on the management failings that eviscerated – overnight – brand equity and consumer trust earned over more than a century. And there will continuing analysis of the steps the company is taking to recover from the crisis.
No matter how you slice it (sorry), it’s going to be a long road back for Boar’s Head. So far, they’re giving it their best shot. We’ll be paying attention in the coming months.
Crisis Quotient Blog 