Tyson COO Jim Lochner said yesterday that he expects that the current “Pink Slime” controversy to "put a fair amount of pressure on ground beef consumption," but that demand should recover “quite quickly,” though he also said that there likely would be “a 2% to 3% reduction in the available beef supply.” (Pink Slime, in case you have not been paying attention, is the pejorative terms used to describe filler that has been used in some ground beef, creating an outcry among some nutritionists and consumer advocates about lack of transparency.)
According to the Associated Press story, Lochner also “framed the issue as a ‘two-week event’.”
According to the Associated Press story, Lochner also “framed the issue as a ‘two-week event’.”
- KC's View:
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Methinks that people should be careful about minimizing the importance of the Pink Slime controversy. The PR battle has been lost by the people in the industry who think that the issue has been blown out of proportion and that the nature of the filler has been mischaracterized, but they should pay close attention to the part of the discussion that has to do with transparency. If there is stuff in products that is not being labeled, there always is the possibility of a controversy. Not being transparent will be equated with being dishonest, with having something to hide. And because of the nature of 21st century communications, these controversies can burn like wildfires.
Just a two-week event? I think not.
