AGENTS of the Food and Drug Administration were in Emporia last week to search the Menu Foods Midwest plant as part of the investigation of the contamination of tons of pet food sold in the United States. Much of that food was manufactured at the Canadian company’s Emporia plant.
The story of the contamination has continued to grow. It began with reports of the deaths of some pets that had eaten the food. The food was recalled and lab tests were started to find the source of the contamination. Production at the Emporia plant was temporarily shut down.
The story went international when suspicion began to focus on wheat gluten produced by a company in China. The gluten may have been tainted with a chemical to make it seem to contain more protein than it actually contained.
Menu Foods has sued the importer of the Chinese gluten.
The pet-food story became a people-food story last week, when the U.S. government announced that contaminated rice concentrate had been used for pig feed and the pigs had been slaughtered for bacon, pork chops and hams. People might be consuming the same chemical that had killed cats and dogs. The government has said that the risk to people is negligible and it does not intend to recall the pork.
On these basic facts, Menu Foods is beginning to look like an innocent victim of somebody else’s greed.
Given that, why does the company continue to pursue a policy of virtual silence on the contamination case?
The Emporia plant refers all questions from reporters to the company headquarters. Headquarters does not answer questions, but issues canned statements that are obviously the product of the company lawyers. Menu’s usual response: “Ask the FDA.”
The FDA’s response: “Ask Menu Foods.”
The FDA — which already has credibility problems — has nothing to lose by this double clam act, but Menu Foods has everything to lose.
The longer the company relies on its lawyers to do the work of its public relations department, the longer it imposes silence on its employees, the more it looks like it has something to hide.
A company that is in the business of producing pet food to carry the labels of other companies cannot afford to put itself in a position in which it is an embarrassment to those customers.
Menu must not only do its job well; it must show itself to the public as doing its job well.
The only way to do that is by being open with pet owners.
And the only way to be open with pet owners is to be open with the press.
mythoughts (anonymous) says...
Honestly. What are they up to? What are they thinking? Why does Emporia have to suffer for the buying decisions from higher up the chain? Our Menu workers should be getting full pay regardless of whether there's any work to do right now. And if the company is going to close, then close and let people get on with their lives. Quit stringing people along until they've exhausted all their resources, have to (try to) declare bankruptcy and go on the "dole" to keep their families fed. Secrecy is not the answer.
May 1, 2007 at 4:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Wasp (anonymous) says...
"On these basic facts, Menu Foods is beginning to look like an innocent victim of somebody else’s greed." You are just now figuring this out???
"Given that, why does the company continue to pursue a policy of virtual silence on the contamination case?" Why do you say they are "pursuring a policky of virtural silence" when they were the first ones to admit to the problem. Also, you do realize that this wheat gluten they use is human grade. Imagine the outcry if people were dying from it!
May 1, 2007 at 9:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
siamesefred (anonymous) says...
Menu Foods (and the other companies affected by this situation) should go back to the marketing textbooks and read the case studies of Johnson & Johnson in the 1980s and that company's reaction to the Tylenol tampering.
J&J could have taken the silent route. Instead, the company took action and made an effort to inform consumers of the entire process. This led to tamper-resistant packaging and other changes in the process. By being transparent, they regained customer trust and support.
Menu should start answering the simple questions: What lines are running? How many employees are off work? For how long? Are they being paid at all while not working (using vacation, drawing unemployment)? When do they expect to get all the lines back up?
None of those answers would affect a possible criminal investigation or any other information the feds are seeking. And it might ease some stress locally.
May 2, 2007 at 7:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
daveedailey (anonymous) says...
Why is any company from the United States buying imports, period? There is enough here that all company's can purchase what they need. Why not give the farmers here the same breaks and a profit rather than give the money over seas. I wish all Americans would only buy American made but the problem is even parts of some things come frome somewhere else in the world, such as your automobile. It is really sad to think that we cannot buy from our own farmers and be re assured that our products are good!!!!!
May 2, 2007 at 1:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )