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What Was the Accusation?
Schwan’s Sales Enterprises faced a nationwide food-safety crisis in October 1994 after public-health investigators linked its ice cream products to an outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis. Minnesota health officials detected an unusual increase in infections and a case-control study found a strong association between illness and consumption of Schwan’s ice cream. Schwan’s stopped production at its Marshall, Minnesota, plant on October 7 and began a nationwide voluntary recall two days later. The outbreak ultimately became one of the largest documented foodborne-disease outbreaks in the United States; a later peer-reviewed investigation estimated that approximately 224,000 people developed gastroenteritis after eating the company’s ice cream.
Investigators concluded that the most likely source was pasteurized ice-cream premix that became contaminated during transportation. Tanker trailers used to carry the premix had previously transported unpasteurized liquid eggs, a known source of salmonella. Because the premix had already been pasteurized before transport, it was not repasteurized after arriving at the Schwan’s plant. The investigation did not identify the plant itself as the source of the organism.
Schwan’s response emphasized customer safety and corrective action. The company recalled affected products, halted production, cooperated with government agencies, offered reimbursement for diagnostic testing, and announced new safeguards. President Alfred Schwan said the company would repasteurize incoming ingredients, dedicate sealed tankers to ingredient transportation, and test ice-cream mix for salmonella before shipment. He said the company had been committed to protecting customers from the moment it learned of the potential problem and framed the new procedures as exceeding normal industry practice.
Key Apologia Strategies
Corrective Action, Bolstering, Good Intentions
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Transcript
Excerpt from Schwan’s public statements during the October 1994 salmonella outbreak:
“The well-being of our customers is our very first priority at Schwan’s, which is why we are willingly withdrawing our ice cream products from distribution and cooperating fully with government agencies. Further, we will make no product shipment until the results of these tests are known. This measure is over and above standard industry practice. From the moment we were notified about a potential problem with regard to our ice cream, we have been dedicated to doing whatever possible to ensure the safety of our customers and justify their faith in us. We believe our response to Dr. Kessler’s recommendations is in keeping with this commitment.”
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994, October 14). Outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis associated with nationally distributed ice cream products—Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, 1994. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 43(40), 740–741. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032868.htm
Hennessy, T. W., Hedberg, C. W., Slutsker, L., White, K. E., Besser-Wiek, J. M., Moen, M. E., Feldman, J., Coleman, W. W., Edmonson, L. M., MacDonald, K. L., & Osterholm, M. T. (1996). A national outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis infections from ice cream. The New England Journal of Medicine, 334(20), 1281–1286. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199605163342001
