Ritz goes proactive in cracker recall – Info PR

Ritz was taking no chances with the health of its consumers—or its
reputation.

Parent company Mondelez International issued a recall for several products
over fears of salmonella contamination in one key ingredient. Ritz
announced the recall in a tweet:

Mondelēz Global LLC announced a voluntary recall in the United States, Puerto Rico & the U.S. Virgin Islands, of certain Ritz Cracker Sandwiches and Ritz Bits product. For a full list of affected products please visit: https://t.co/q5CvZN9VTb

— Ritz crackers (@Ritzcrackers) July 21, 2018

The tweet links to
a press release
that reads, in part:

Salmonella is a microorganism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal
infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with
weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often
experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and
abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result
in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe
illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms),
endocarditis and arthritis.

This recall is limited exclusively to the products listed in the grid
below, available at retail stores nationwide. No other Mondelēz Global LLC
product is included in this recall.

[FREE GUIDE: 3 helpful tips for your crisis comms prep]

The company emphasizes that the recall is voluntary and that there have
been no reports of infection from eating any Ritz products.

On social media, users and news outlets shared graphics that illustrated
which products should be thrown out.

16 varieties of Ritz cracker products are being recalled over potential risk of salmonella. https://t.co/D76HZBFqPH pic.twitter.com/NJ7GBD8Zly

— ABC News (@ABC) July 23, 2018

Others shared the warning and asked for retweets to reach more people:

If you have Ritz products, throw them out. There has been a massive salmonella outbreak at the company.

Retweet to warn others.

— Kyle Allen Music (@KyleAllenMusic) July 22, 2018

Some news outlets looked to other salmonella incidents to gauge Mondelez’
efforts. Ritz has earned kudos by being proactive; generally, recalls come
in response to reports of sickened consumers.

Fortune wrote:

Recent weeks have seen a spate of
salmonella outbreaks, with other recalls impacting packages of
pre-cut fruit
and
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks
cereal. More than 150 people were sickened in those two cases, but Mondelez
says no illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled Ritz
products. As with most such recalls, however, consumers are advised to
immediately dispose of any impacted product.

Here are three lessons from the Ritz crisis response:

1.
Define the problem.

In announcing the recall, Ritz defined salmonella and listed the possible
consequences of ingesting contaminated food. By explicitly stating the
concerns, Ritz demonstrated its knowledge and provided an information hub
for consumers, while easing public fears.

2.
Offer ways to learn more.

In a crisis, it’s essential to offer complete information and grab
your audience’s attention. These two goals can work against each other if
your first point of contact is too dense or complex.

Instead, get users to engage with your message by offering a link so they
can learn more about the issue. Clearly state the problem, and link to your
in-depth analysis. This way, you will get maximum attention for your social
media post or press release, while providing complete information to
consumers.

3.
Be aggressive.

By acting before the crisis deepened, Mondelez demonstrated a deep concern
for customers and perhaps bypassed a PR catastrophe. In a crisis you must
be assertive and take immediate, proactive steps or your risk will deepen,
and you could lose consumer trust.

What do you think of Mondelez International’s crisis efforts, PR Daily readers?

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