CHICAGO -- The chances are high that future outbreaks of illness associated with food-borne bacteria will be linked with supermarket operations, said a panel of industry and government representatives from the front lines of the food safety situation.
During the Food Marketing Institute's annual convention here earlier this month, the panelists -- from SuperValu, Albertson's, Stop & Shop and the Food & Drug Administration -- spoke at a seminar on how to prepare for occurrences of food-borne illnesses.
They said the industry can bet on the news media seeking out and publicizing any chinks in the armor protecting the industry's reputation for food safety.
"There is probably no more important product [than food safety]," said Jonathan Seltzer, vice president, industry and government relations, SuperValu, Minneapolis. "While food safety and sanitation are priorities for many, they are not something to be taken for granted."
Steve Hilton, director, product quality and environmental programs for Albertson's, Boise, ID, said there are "lots of chances to cause food-borne illness" -- and opportunities for food retailers to find themselves faced with "living through Jack-in-the-Box's worst nightmare."
That was Hilton's way of describing of the disastrous outbreak of the bacteria E. coli 0157:H7 on the West Coast in 1993, traced to ground beef sold in Jack-in-the-Box outlets, which led to several deaths, lawsuits and harmful publicity that lingers still.
"The media made it look terrible -- which it was," he said. "I hope none of us have to live through the same situation."
He noted, however, that many factors are increasing the odds of future outbreaks with potentially painful aftermaths. They include the presence of a "big vulnerable population to which food-borne illness can be life-threatening," such as the very young, the elderly and sufferers from HIV; and the likelihood that drug-resistant pathogens will continue to emerge.
He said the media's fascination with the subject is another factor for concern. "Whatever way these incidents come up, if we have one, the media will come," he said. Added to that is the prospect of a litigious segment of the public, to which "a successful grocery company could seem like a ripe plum to pick."
The industry also offers itself as a handy target to what Hilton termed "aggressive regulatory agencies" seeking to deflect blows aimed at their own potential culpability for outbreaks. "They feel they have to appear to be aggressively pursuing the problem, and we are on the hot seat," he said.
The vulnerable nature of some of the most trendy and important fresh products present an opportunity for illness outbreaks. "Many of the products sold in our stores are problems," Hilton said.
The factors add to a charged situation, waiting to explode. "When lightning strikes, you had better be prepared, because things move very quickly. The consequences can be disastrous."
Hilton described the crisis management plan that Albertson's has in place, a precaution he said was essential for every supermarket chain and wholesaler. The chain, with 720 stores in 16 divisions, has plans for each level of organization -- from corporate headquarters down to the stores.
At the head is a corporate crisis management team composed of an executive empowered to "make decisions that are binding for the entire company," as well as specialists from departments that handle technology, media relations, operations, legal considerations, finance and risk management.
The members of the team have specific assignments in the event of an outbreak, to make sure crucial tasks are handled, explained Hilton.
The assignments include a single spokesperson to handle media contacts, he said. In addition, Hilton emphasized several times the benefit of having an open pipeline to the regulators. "Have a regular contact person to communicate very well with regulatory agencies. It is very important20to establish this in advance of an outbreak."
Other team members have responsibility for contacts with customers, victims and manufacturers, as well as for internal communications.
At the division and store level, Albertson's makes sure personnel have access to headquarters, including the names and phone numbers of the right contacts "to get things in motion." The company offers specific instructions on how to handle media and the public at the local level as well.
Hilton said that for Albertson's, two identical complaints about products or illness from different sources is enough for a "call to action" for the crisis team. The chain identifies the specific food in question, notifies any manufacturer involved, "isolates" the food (which may include a recall) and preserves any evidence for potential investigations by regulators or its own legal defense.
"Notify the regulators, and ask for help," Hilton said next. "They will help," he added, although with qualifiers. He named FDA in particular as a "professional" ready and able to help in a food crisis. In addition, chains can expect input from the Centers for Disease Control in the event of a serious outbreak.
"State regulators can be helpful, or sometimes they can be the other way," Hilton added. "We keep them informed. Local regulators can be a challenge; they often don't have great experience. Avoid local law enforcement officials. If possible, keep them out of the loop." Hilton warned against avoiding complainants, however. "Stay available to them," he said, and at the same time get a risk management specialist involved in the contact. If a manufacturer is shown to be at fault, he added, "get yourself out of the middle as soon as possible."
He also cautioned supermarkets to never drop a claimant. " 'Go fly a kite' is not the best way to handle it."
Handling the media carefully is also an unavoidable responsibility, despite temptations for a knee-jerk response. He advised writing concise, factual press releases that make it clear a threat no longer exists, say something good about the company's actions and avoid defensiveness.
"We want to use media to our own ends, not have them use us to make sensational news stories." Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., Quincy, MA, works at keeping press in the loop all the time, said Terry Vandewater, director of public affairs for the chain.
"Cultivate reporters by providing them with useful information on a regular basis," Vandewater said. "Become the industry expert in your geographic area with reporters. When you are faced with a food safety crisis, you will have good relationships already established. These relationships will help you get the appropriate message to the public and hopefully leave the company's reputation intact."
The chain saw this approach pay off when it had a potential problem with private label orange juice. A manufacturing run of juice cartons had been contaminated with milk product, possibly affecting the health of some consumers.
Stop & Shop's crisis management team quickly implemented a voluntary recall, informing all 122 stores of the problem electronically. The team approved a press release that explained the reason for the voluntary recall, offered specifics on the carton size and expiration date, and ended with a hotline number for consumers with questions.
"Prior to release, we notified FDA officials and kept them abreast of what we were doing," Vandewater added. Then, the chain faxed the release, at 6:30 p.m., to press contacts.
Vandewater noted that Stop & Shop was not overly cooperative; it did not grant live interviews, nor did it agree to requests to film the juice aisle in the stores. It did, however, offer logical reasons for the refusals, a move which she said kept things friendly and coverage positive.
Stop & Shop gained news coverage that same night on three major television stations and on radio. The next morning saw a story in a major metropolitan daily and local paper.
"The spin on all the stories was that Stop & Shop was taking a pro-active approach, was concerned about its consumers' health and wanted to educate the general public," she said.
