Food SafetyCrisis Control

It seems like it almost always happens late on a Friday afternoon, just before a long holiday weekend, or in the early hours of the morning. It is that phone call from a consumer who may have been sickened by your product, or from one of your facilities reporting a chemical spill or release, or from a government agency reporting a potential problem with one of your best-selling items.

Are you and your company ready to respond to these emergency or crisis situations? We often neglect the planning and preparation required to manage unintended, unforeseeable events that have the potential to significantly disrupt the normal operations of a company. Trade associations, government agencies, academic sources and consultants offer abundant resources for crisis and emergency-response planning. With foresight and a bit of common sense, food companies, regardless of size, can use these off-the-shelf materials to develop a flexible plan that can be modified to react to any emergency situation.

A team effort 

The primary responsibility for managing a crisis lies with a carefully selected crisis-management team (CMT). Its core functions should be assigned to senior executives who have authority to obtain aid as required by circumstances. The CMT should be kept small to speed the decision-making process. Most often, the group consists of the CEO, legal counsel, public relations, sales, operations and regulatory compliance or quality assurance. Additional functions can be added as required. At least one alternate representative should be identified for each functional area. All team members must be accessible on short notice.

It is critical that a single person be designated to lead the team. The team leader should be a senior executive with specific knowledge of the factors involved in the particular situation. For example, in a recall situation related to food safety or quality, the team leader should be the senior executive with responsibility for those areas. During a natural disaster, fire or environmental issue, the executive with responsibility for those areas needs to take the lead. Executive kidnappings, employee violence, etc. should be handled by security and/or human resources executives. The team leader must be granted the authority to make the quick decisions necessary in crisis situations.

In addition to managing crises, the CMT has an important role in preventing such situations. The team should review company policies and procedures, determine internal and external strengths, and pinpoint weaknesses that may result in special situations. This information is the foundation for developing appropriate contingency plans. The plans should focus on special situations most likely to occur, such as product recalls, a natural disaster or an industrial accident. The plan, however, must be flexible enough to address less-likely crisis scenarios, like product tampering or even executive kidnapping. In addition to policies and procedures to be followed in a special situation, the contingency plan should include:

A list of CMT members and other key people in the company, along with their contact information and procedures for alerting them;

A crisis communications center for receiving all data and information relating to the crisis should also be specified in the plan. This can be a virtual installation, but in most situations, person-to-person contact is essential in developing swift solutions in fluid situations. If the crisis is expected to generate a large volume of consumer calls, it may be necessary to engage a phone-bank provider. The supplier can provide 800 number coverage and live operators who can solicit information from callers and supply them with information about the situation. A mechanism must also be in place to recover and analyze the data collected.

Conflicting statements, exaggerated claims, missing or incorrect data and faulty assumptions often characterize the first 24 hours of a crisis. While a quick response is essential, it must also be effective and adequately address the real problem. In the long run, it pays to take a step back from the initial, often emotionally tinged, rush of data and information. As much of the information as possible should be verified, and the situation reassessed, prior to initiating any action or releasing any media statementsunless, of course, there is an immediate threat of severe illness or death attached to the situation. The CMT should meet at least dailyand more frequently during the early stages of the incidentto review new information, assess the effectiveness of corrective actions and review reaction from the press, customers and consumers.

Effective communication 

Communication is key to effective crisis management. It is critical that one person be designated to speak with the media, to ensure delivery of a consistent message.

The person chosen to represent the company should be a senior executive with good communication skills. Companies with multiple facilities should designate a media spokesperson for each facility. These representatives can handle initial media requests if an incident occurs at their facility. Facility representatives, however, must be instructed to refer any questions regarding broader issues to the corporate spokesperson.

Media attention to any crisis is almost guaranteed. Those selected to speak to the media should receive appropriate training. No comment is never an acceptable answer. Respond quickly to press inquiries, even if only promising to provide more information as it becomes available. Always deal with facts when talking to the media. Avoid emotional statements and speculation. Dont second guess or place blame on others. Local television stations frequently make their reporters available for training exercises that can assist participants in preparing for, and participating in, media interviews. These programs also provide an opportunity for companies to develop a rapport with the media outlet that may be of value during a crisis situation.

Dont forget to communicate regularly with employees. They will be questioned about the situation by friends and neighbors, and they will hear and see media coverage. They could also become targets of reporters eager to gain additional information about the crisis. Keep them informed as the situation develops, to minimize speculation and rumors. It will also bolster employee confidence for them to know the crisis will be resolved satisfactorily without jeopardizing their livelihoods.

Sales personnel should quickly establish contact with key customers. Factual information should be shared so they are not dependant on media sources for their information and can provide accurate responses to inquiries from consumers. In recall situations, retail outlets are instrumental in halting distribution and removing defective products from store shelves. In other situations, customers need to know if deliveries will be disrupted and for how long.

One of the primary responsibilities of the CMT is to document all actions taken and communications made during the incident. This record, along with the data collected, will be valuable in developing a corrective action plan to prevent reoccurrence of the situation, and will be useful if legal or government investigations arise from the incident. Crisis or emergency situations present a challenge to any company. Proper planning and swift execution of the plans elements by the crisis team will reduce the disruption of normal operations and minimize the impact of the incident on the business.

Stan Iwanicki established Hill Country Food Consultants in 200 after more than 3 years in the food industry. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Hill Country Food Consultants can undertake a comprehensive review of a companys practices and crisis plans or provide expert support during a crisis situation. Iwanicki can be reached at 30/990-177 or by e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.hillcountryfoodconsultants.com.