Boar’s Head’s Cold Response to a Deadly Recall: Where’s the Heart in Corporate Apologies?
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications
For decades, we’ve paid a premium price for Boar’s Head deli meats, trusting them to deliver quality and safety. Now, we learn that for over two years federal food safety inspectors documented water dripping over meat, dead flies, small pieces of meat residue on food contact surfaces, pooled blood on the plant floor and rancid smells in coolers, unlabeled products and “black moldlike substances” ranging from as small as a pinhead to the size of a quarter on walls at their Virginia plant, which is now tragically linked to 9 deaths from listeria.
Their press release is a classic example of corporate doublespeak: “We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families… We are conducting an extensive investigation” And our favorite, “Your safety remains our top priority.”
If these words were true, how could these shocking violations persist for so long? If people got sick from a single, unforeseen incident at a clean, well-run facility, I’d understand. But when federal inspectors report mold and other egregious violations for over two years —and now nine lives are lost, with 57 more in the hospital—it’s clear: Safety was far from being your top priority.
Carlos Giraldo, President of Boar’s Head, and Larry Helfant, COO: With nine people dead, why couldn’t either of you step up and offer a real, heartfelt apology? A faceless corporate statement isn’t enough. In times of crisis, leadership means speaking from the heart, not hiding behind PR.
Sorry, Boar’s Head, but your response is as cold and empty as your commitment to safety seems to be.
Here’s a link to the article in The New York Times about the situation and the 9 deaths attributable to the Boar’s Head products.
Here’s the official press release from #BoarsHead
What They Should Have Done
Some time ago, Jeni’s Ice Cream faced a similar situation. Their response was much different than the response so far from Boar’s Head. Simply put, Jeni’s did everything right and they knocked it out of the park. Nora Jacobs, senior VP at Hennes Communications, lays it all out here.
Here’s the apology from Jeni, herself.
UPDATE: According to the NY Times, this plant was cited multiple times two years earlier.