A Case Study Of Crisis Communication, Image Restoration And Utilitarian Ethics: A Recall Of Contaminated Peanut Butter Examined

Abstract

In a publicized crisis, the goal to ethically and restoratively regain public trust is paramount to most corporations. In 2009, the food industry in the USA was thrust into a crisis when the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), a small peanut processing company in Georgia, was linked to a salmonella outbreak resulting in illness, fatalities, and the recall of close to 4,000 products. Many large food product companies bore the economic impact, though they were not the cause of the problem. Consumers became confused about which products were safe. The oversight stewardship abilities of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) became suspect. PCA went bankrupt and its owners face federal prosecution. To fully understand the public communication decisions made by PCA, principles of Image Restoration Theory are used to examine and evaluate PCA’s responses to this event. To render generalizable knowledge for others from this historic case, Utilitarian Ethics are applied to the actions of PCA, the FDA, and the peanut industry as a whole. This analysis of past events may serve to empower business leaders and corporate communicators faced with correcting future food borne illness problems and communicating with their key constituencies of regulators, business partners and consumers.