This post is the second in our six-part Solution Stories series, where in each story, we profile a real-life crisis and how it evolved and was managed. We also offer a digital solution that could support effective crisis management in similar circumstances.
On April 8, 2022, Belgium’s federal food safety authority (FASFC)* revoked the license of Ferrero Rocher’s production site in Arlon, Belgium, after a salmonella outbreak was linked to its Kinder chocolate products made at the factory. At the FASFC’s request, Ferrero also recalled all batches of products produced at the Arlon site, regardless of their lot number or expiration date. Around the same time in the US, Ferrero issued a voluntary recall for chocolate products manufactured at the same production facility. The events were the blazing result of a smouldering crisis that had presented itself months earlier. Ferrero’s insufficient attention to early red flags resulted in severe setbacks for the business. When the worst was over, Ferrero faced a battered reputation, loss of customer trust and financial damages. Had they handled it differently, they could have mitigated the scale of impact. The incident also has the dubious honour of being recognised as one of the more poorly handled crises from the past three decades in our book, 'Crisis Management: 30 Years in Review: The Good, the Bad and the Truly Ugly.'
By May 2022, more than 300 people from 16 countries were reported sick from the salmonella outbreak linked to the Arlon site. Those affected included neighbouring France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and countries further afar, such as Canada and the United States. Most of the victims were young children under 10 years of age who became sick after eating Kinder chocolate produced in Arlon. Many ended up in hospital. The crisis had a significant fallout for the Ferrero Group, a company celebrated for renowned brands such as Nutella, Ferrero Rocher® and Tic Tac. By the time the FASFC gave the Ferrero plant ‘conditional authorisation’ to reopen production lines in mid-June and final approval to fully restart manufacturing in September, the cost of the recall event was estimated to likely exceed US$60m in revenue and business interruption losses.
Ferrero had discovered salmonella contamination in its Arlon facility as early as mid-December 2021. After finding a defective filter at two raw material reservoirs, the manufacturer immediately replaced the filter. In addition, it destroyed five days’ worth of production. However, Ferrero did not inform the Belgian federal food safety agency of the incident. This decision was within its rights as long as contaminated products had not left the company, which was believed to be the case. However, it emerged that products had indeed left the facility.
Ferrero was widely denounced for its poor judgement amid rising reports of infections in Europe attributed to eating contaminated chocolate. Food safety consultant and microbiologist François Bourdichon told Food Manufacture that there is no room for ‘mild decisions’ when it comes to food safety. He compared Ferrero’s ‘mild’ response to the bolder and extra cautious response of Barry Callebaut, another chocolate producer, which experienced a salmonella outbreak at its plant in Wieze, Belgium, in June 2022. Ferrero blocked production for five days to complete the usual cleaning procedure before reopening to business as usual, only to be shut down by the local food safety authority. Barry Callebaut stopped production, recalled every delivered product and cleaned the factory thoroughly before a slow and gradual reopening. Unlike Ferrero, there were no hospitalisations attributed to the Wieze outbreak. Bourdichon remarked, “The corrective action will have a financial consequence, but always far less than an uncontrolled situation.”
British health authorities started investigations on January 7, 2022, after finding an unusually high number of salmonella cases. On March 23, the British authorities established a preliminary link between the cases and Ferrero products and informed the company. National authorities started to issue public health warnings from April 2. Meanwhile, Ferrero remained silent and refused to speak to the media. Almost two weeks after being notified by the British authorities, they issued a list of recalled products, which they later expanded as a precautionary measure. When Belgian authorities shut down its Arlon plant on April 8, following ‘incomplete’ information provided by Ferrero, the company issued a statement saying, “We deeply regret this matter. We want to sincerely apologise to all our consumers and business partners and thank the food safety authorities for their valuable guidance.” At the time, Ferrero acknowledged that “there were internal inefficiencies, creating delays in retrieving and sharing information in a timely manner.”
At the time, Belgian consumer organisation Test Aankoop/Test-Achats acknowledged that while salmonella contaminations can occur, Ferrero was aware of the situation in December and that it "did not react decisively enough." A spokesman said, "It seems that Ferrero wanted to keep the matter silent as much as possible: on the one hand, by a recall that was too modest, on the other hand, by not reporting the problem to the FAVV, nor making it public."
The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) had expressed concerns about delays in Ferrero’s information sharing during the investigation, which contributed to time gaps in the recall process and the need to undertake several separate recalls. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) experts were conducting further investigations to determine the cause and possible factors behind the contamination. With the authorities being first to report the salmonella cases while Ferrero remained silent, food agencies and government organisations such as the FSA, FSS and the EFSA, and their spokespeople featured widely in the media. Ferrero issued statements attributed to the company rather than a spokesperson. An analysis of the media coverage of the various spokespeople indicated that food agency and government representatives, who invariably spoke with a critical view, controlled the narrative. Without a spokesperson, Ferrero did not present a name and face that people could connect with, making it harder for them to build trust with their customers and other stakeholders.
The unfolding crisis had many moving parts and stakeholders. Ferrero received criticism for their lack of transparency, with some experts saying that if the company had chosen to make a public announcement or report the incident, it could have prevented many from falling ill. There was also anger at how Ferrero had attempted to keep the incident quiet. While officials in the UK discovered the contaminates as early as January 7, Ferrero said nothing until April. Even after issuing a press statement and a list of recalled products, they refused to speak to the media. Nevertheless, Ferrero made efforts to build bridges and issued a public apology statement. They also launched an online platform to offer help and compensation, enabling those affected to lodge complaints.
A product recall is one of the most significant risks a company can face. The salmonella outbreak caused enormous financial and reputational damage to Ferrero, not to mention its impact on those who became sick after consuming its chocolate. Food safety will be an ongoing challenge as contaminations and undeclared allergens contribute to recalls. Ferrero found itself amid another outbreak in July 2023, when it detected salmonella again at the Arlon plant. At that time, the company informed the FASFC, reporting that no consumer products had tested positive and that some production lines had been suspended.
While no company expects to face a recall, it is a risk that businesses across many industries must contend with. Being prepared to manage the multiple moving pieces and stakeholders can help you navigate the crisis and ensure business continuity. One tool to help companies and their teams manage a crisis, such as a fast-unravelling food safety emergency, is CrisisCom™. A unique interactive system, CrisisCom™ maximises crisis management resources in a virtual crisis management environment (VCME). CS&A developed it to support clients’ crisis management needs. Whether dealing with limited resources, a crisis affecting a remote site, decentralised crisis management teams or the inability to access key corporate leaders when needed, the CrisisCom™ VCME is an accessible and functional crisis management tool. It allows crisis management to occur anytime, anywhere and any place using a laptop, an internet connection and the CrisisCom™ interface. By removing crisis resource, communication and administration bottlenecks, CrisisCom™ provides a real-time global crisis management solution with continuity, accuracy and security.
With the evolving cybersecurity landscape and increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, businesses must anticipate and prepare for the reality of a cyber threat. CrisisCom™ helps enhance crisis resilience by providing a completely secure space to manage and share information during a crisis when other systems may be compromised. It empowers proactive crisis management and helps mitigate the severe ramifications of a poorly managed crisis that can forever become a textbook case study. Find out more about how to support effective crisis management in a safe space here.
*Known as AFSCA in French and FAVV in Dutch
Caroline Sapriel is Managing Partner of CS&A International, a consultancy specialising in risk, crisis, and business continuity management. With over 30 years of experience in risk and crisis management, she is recognised as a leader in her profession and acknowledged for her ability to provide customised, results-driven counsel and training at the highest level.
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