‘I Say It’s Spinach ...’
The Simultaneous Tarnishing of 30 Brands
October 2006 By Denny Hatch
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In the News
3rd Bad Spinach Bag From Calif. PlantThird bag of tainted spinach linked to Calif. plant, health officials say
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A third bag of Dole baby spinach that tested positive for a deadly E. coli strain has been linked to a specific batch packaged at a Salinas Valley plant, state health officials said. A Pennsylvania state lab identified the strain Tuesday in a sample of spinach purchased on or around Sept. 8 in Indiana County. Samples from the individual who was believed to be sickened by eating the spinach still are being tested. At least 183 people nationwide have been sickened by eating spinach tainted by the same E. coli strain.
—Associated Press, Sept. 28, 2006
Young mother: “It’s broccoli, dear.”
Young daughter: “I say it’s spinach, and I say the hell with it.”
Recently, I’ve been buying bagged spinach and either microwaving it in the bag or sauteing it with a ton of garlic.
Great stuff, until nearly 200 people in 26 states became seriously ill with E. coli from tainted bagged spinach supplied by Natural Selection Foods in California’s Salinas Valley. At least one person died and 29 others had kidney failure.
From a public health point of view, the story is E. coli.
In the world of marketing, this is all about brand protection.
Musings of a Naïve Consumer
I work at home, so I do the grocery shopping. Bagged spinach and salad greens make me feel good. For example, the bagged romaine hearts from Earthbound Farms were terrific—no outer leaves to discard, dated for freshness, keeps fresh in the bag. What’s more, these are for sale at the local Super Fresh (an A&P subsidiary) and Whole Foods six blocks away. Whole Foods is a class operation; any product with a Whole Foods imprimatur is fine by me.
I always preferred Earthbound to Dole. Ever since I was a kid I thought of Dole pineapples coming from Hawaii. If Dole produce comes from Hawaii, I reasoned, it takes a long time to get here, so Earthbound must be closer and fresher.
What’s more, “Earthbound” sounds crunchy, organic and natural with no chemicals. Do I pay more for Earthbound? I assume so. Everything at Whole Foods seems to cost more.
Once in a while I go to Trader Joe’s across town and pick up Trader Joe’s brand bagged spinach or salad greens.
I considered myself a fairly savvy consumer/shopper.
As Miss Piggy might say, “Silly moi!”
The Food and Drug Administration announced that the following 30 brands were recalled for possible E. coli contamination from the Natural Selection Foods plant in San Juan Bautista, Calif.:
Natural Selection Foods, Pride of San Juan, Earthbound Farm, Bellissima, Dole, Rave Spinach, Emeril, Sysco, O Organic, Fresh Point, River Ranch, Superior, Nature’s Basket, Pro-Mark, Compliments, Trader Joe’s, Ready Pac, Jansal Valley, Cheney Brothers, D’Arrigo Brothers, Green Harvest, Mann, Mills Family Farm, Premium Fresh, Snoboy, The Farmer’s Market, Tanimura & Antle, President’s Choice, Cross Valley, and Riverside Farms.
Takeaway Points to Consider:
* If I were running a business again, this spinach debacle would inspire me to do an assessment of every facet of my operation to determine which areas I controlled absolutely, had partial control over and had no direct control over. Where might a failure in the system occur, and what would the consequences be?* I would have in place a public relations crisis management plan—and a business recovery plan—or any and all possible contingencies. Ad hoc disaster management would probably make things worse.
* I would Google my suppliers and major customers every six months to see if anything untoward is going on that could affect my business.
* If the flow of my business depended entirely on one outside supplier—a processing plant, a warehouse or a printer for example—I would certainly buy a D&B Comprehensive Report™ every six months and consider moving some of that work to a backup source to spread the risk.
* Whether your business is book publishing (as in James Frey’s bogus memoir for Random House), Dr. Phil’s diet program, Firestone, Vioxx, cigarettes or spinach, a legion of class action lawyers are waiting to pounce the minute you make a mistake—even if it’s not your fault.
* For example, if you or someone you know contracted E. coli from tainted spinach, the Seattle law firm of Marler Clark (www.ecoliblog.com) is waiting to hear from you. You should be able to collect from $25,000 to $15 million, depending on the severity of the illness.
* Even if it’s not your fault, if you own the company, it’s your fault.
Web Sites Related to Today's Edition:
FDA Statement on E. coli Outbreakhttp://tinyurl.com/g2tmz
Western Growers Association
http://www.wga.com/public/index.php
Marler Clark, E. coli Class Action Attorneys
http://www.ecoliblog.com
Natural Selection Foods/Earthbound Farm
http://www.ebfarm.com/
Dole
http://www.dole.com
Trader Joe’s
http://www.traderjoes.com
Ready Pac
http://www.readypac.com
D&B Comprehensive Report™
http://tinyurl.com/j9te8
Companies Mentioned:
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