Odwalla
Odwalla Case
1. What factors contributed to the outbreak of E. coli poisoning described in this case? Do you believe that Odwalla was responsible, wholly or in part, for the outbreak? Why or why not? There are three factors which contributed to this incident. First, the defect in its technology resulted in the outbreak of E. coli poisoning. Resisting industry safety standards, Odwalla steadfastly refused to pasteurize its juices claiming it altered taste and was unnecessary. Unpasteurized juice, the company believed, retained more vitamins, enzymes, and “flavor notes” of fresh fruits and vegetables. Second, Odwalla had significant flaws in its safety procedures and citrus-processing equipment which were so poorly maintained that it was breeding bacteria in “black rotten crud”. In addition, Odwalla apple juice had a pH level of 4.3, and the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that E. coli O157:H7 could survive at a pH below 4.0 at the temperature of refrigerated juice. Third, the lower-efficient feedback was one of the most important causes of the E. coli poisoning outbreak. The year before the incident, Odwalla had received letters from customers who became violently ill, but had not addressed the problem. Besides, as Mallen (2008) reported, The head of quality assurance, Dave Stevenson, who was aware of the dangers, proposed using chlorine rinse as a backstop against bad fruit. Senior executives who feared chlorine would leave an aftertaste overruled him. They decided to rely on acid wash although its chemical supplier had informed Odwalla that the wash had killed the E. coli in only 8 percent of tests and should not be used without chlorine. Seeing from above-mentioned information, some ethical issues appeared. Such as whether Odwalla’s products should be recalled as soon as possible after this incident; whether Odwalla should follow the suggestion of utilizing pasteurization, and whether
1. What factors contributed to the outbreak of E. coli poisoning described in this case? Do you believe that Odwalla was responsible, wholly or in part, for the outbreak? Why or why not? There are three factors which contributed to this incident. First, the defect in its technology resulted in the outbreak of E. coli poisoning. Resisting industry safety standards, Odwalla steadfastly refused to pasteurize its juices claiming it altered taste and was unnecessary. Unpasteurized juice, the company believed, retained more vitamins, enzymes, and “flavor notes” of fresh fruits and vegetables. Second, Odwalla had significant flaws in its safety procedures and citrus-processing equipment which were so poorly maintained that it was breeding bacteria in “black rotten crud”. In addition, Odwalla apple juice had a pH level of 4.3, and the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that E. coli O157:H7 could survive at a pH below 4.0 at the temperature of refrigerated juice. Third, the lower-efficient feedback was one of the most important causes of the E. coli poisoning outbreak. The year before the incident, Odwalla had received letters from customers who became violently ill, but had not addressed the problem. Besides, as Mallen (2008) reported, The head of quality assurance, Dave Stevenson, who was aware of the dangers, proposed using chlorine rinse as a backstop against bad fruit. Senior executives who feared chlorine would leave an aftertaste overruled him. They decided to rely on acid wash although its chemical supplier had informed Odwalla that the wash had killed the E. coli in only 8 percent of tests and should not be used without chlorine. Seeing from above-mentioned information, some ethical issues appeared. Such as whether Odwalla’s products should be recalled as soon as possible after this incident; whether Odwalla should follow the suggestion of utilizing pasteurization, and whether
References: Business Editors. (2000). Odwalla Announces Return to Profitability. Retrieved January16, 2008, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_July_6/ai_63179563 Business Respect. (2008). Companies in Crisis - What to do when it all goes wrong. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/crisis05.html Sweet L. (1998). FDA Rules Target Tainted Juices. Retrieved January 16, 2008 from http://www.marlerclark.com/news/odwalla2.htm Mallen. (2008). Companies in Crisis - What to do when it all goes wrong. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/crisis05.html Sinton P. (2001). Odwalla OKs acquisition by Coca-Cola. Retrieved January 16, 2008, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/10/31/BU109477.DTL&type=business