Overall

From the first day that Maple Leaf Foods had opened their door they have only made great success over the years. Although they have had some rough moments throughout the years they also found a way to come back and show everyone why they have such a great company. I am sure that for many more years Maple Leaf Foods will keep on showing us why they are great at what they do. Although they were faced with two recalls they worked like a great company and insured all their customers that a little set back will not stop them. Companies succeed the most when they have a good formation and Maple Leaf Foods sure does.

Thanks for reading my blog; I hope you learnt some new things about Maple Leaf Foods. Any feedback would be great!

For more information on Maple Leaf Foods, visit their website;

http://www.mapleleaf.ca/en/#/entrance

2009 Minor Recall

A year after the tragedy recall in Barton Road Factory a minor recall was announced about nine wiener products at the Hamilton Ontario plant. There was a possible chance that Listeria bacteria could have an involvement in the recall. This was only a precautionary recall; it was nothing major compared to the recall back in August 2008. Thankfully there were no illnesses connected to this minor recall. The Hamilton plant was very clean and safety tested but there were products with a little amount of listeria bacteria found.

Some products that were recalled;

• Maple Leaf Original Wieners
• Maple Leaf Top Dogs All Beef Wieners
• Maple Leaf Top Dogs Original Wieners

For more information on the recall and the products, please visit;

http://investor.mapleleaf.ca/phoenix.zhtml?c=88490&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1316180&highlight

Working together

Although a lot of people and the media gave Michael McCain praise for taking responsibility of the 2008 recall and working to make everything better, he could not have done it without his staff members and employees. In an interview with the Canadian Press, McCain claimed “I work beside some very capable, committed, passionate people and this just isn’t just about me personally, it’s about our organization and the accountability that we take together.” (McCain, 2008) All 23 000 leaders of Maple Leaf Foods worked their hardest and all together to turn this recall into something successful. In 2009 the company was awarded with the Most Trusted Brands in packaging meat in the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands study that was completed by Harris/Decima. Working together after this recall was announced made this company’s bound a lot stronger and showed to the public and media that no matter what happens, they will stuck together and fix the problem so that it’s all better.

How the company is doing after the recall



McCain taking responsibilty for 2008 recall

The company has doubled its testing and has also increased the analysis results since the recall has happened. To regain the company’s customers there were many coupons given out and sales price decrease, however this also decreased profit margins but it gained many customers back and also new customers. The company took full responsibility of the situation and handled it very well. Many people were amazed on how well Michael McCain and his company dealt with this situation, although the 2008 recall was a health scare for the public and employees of Maple Leaf Foods it also turned out to be a great successful business story. Michael McCain was recognized as one of The 25 Most Influential People in Business by Canadian Business and they also called him “the Canadian poster boy for crisis management and corporate responsibility.” Michael McCain was also awarded Canada’s 2008 Business Newsmaker of the Year. 
 

I believe Maple Leaf Foods have come a long way since they first started. Maple Leaf Foods showed the public that although they did have a huge tragedy they took full responsibility for the actions and did what they could to regain the trust of their customers and business partners back. To me that is a huge success because not all companies can bounce right back up after a huge tragedy like Maple Leaf Foods was faced with back in 2008.

Customers reaction to the recall

After the recall was announced on August 24, many customers had stopped purchasing Maple Leaf products and threw out any products they had home. Some worried customers had told their families and friends about this situation to ensure all bad products were thrown out. Not all customers stop purchasing products from Maple Leaf or threw them out, some customers knew it is hard to maintain bacteria intake at big factory’s like the one at Barton Road. Maple Leaf Foods “loyal” customers continued buying their products even though they knew about the Listeria bacteria that was found in some products.

I am sure that when the public found out about this recall some probably went to the doctors and got checked out to see if they were affected by the Listeria bacteria that was found in some products.

How the company dealt with the 2008 recall

Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain took full responsibility after the recall situation, he appeared on a television advertisement making a heart filled apology about what had happened in his company. McCain spoke to parliamentary committee who was studying food safety and he said “This tragedy was a defining moment for Maple Leaf Foods and for those of us who work there. We are determined to make a terrible wrong, right.” Although this unfortunate tragedy happened to McCain’s company, he was determined to get every back together, the relationship with the public and also the business.

Michael McCain’s apology

http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=cgk3o3AJM2U

Question for the readers: Do you believe Michael McCain is truly sincere about the recall?

Major Sales Drop

After the recall at Bartor Road Maple Leaf Foods had major sales drop, people had stop buying products from the company because they were afraid of getting the illness that took five people’s lives and had gotten many sick. This recall had a $20 million effect on the company, but when the financial chief of Maple Leafs spoke about the amount drop he said the company will be spending more money on customer communications and advertising. According to the 2009 Marketing/Large Corporate Reputation Survey the reputation of this company dropped from 66 out of 100 to 8 out of 100 in a very short period of time. A few months later the reputation of the company had raised again to 40 out of 100, 65% of Canadians had a positive opinion.

Question for the readers: Did you stop purchasing Maple Leaf Food products after the recall was announced?

A Nightmare at Bartor Road Factory

On August 24, 2008 Maple Leaf Foods had made a horrible announcement about recall products that were manufactured at the Bartor Road factory. After an investigation was done by Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada many products were infected with bacteria called Listeria. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency made a public announcement warning people to not consume any Maple Leaf Food products till further notice because there was a chance of Listeria bacteria getting into packages that were already in stores and at people’s homes. Whoever consumed food that had Listeria in it could have had a food borne illness; the immune systems of elderly people, young people, pregnant woman and whoever has a weak immune system were the ones who were mostly at risk of this illness. By August 25, this tragedy claimed the lives of five people and dozens of people were sick. The plant was shut down for a very period of time and was reopened August 28 after all the investigations and cleaning of the machines were done.

Some products that were recalled;

• Deli Shaved Smoked Turkey
• Ezee Sub Gourmet
• Grilled Chicken Breast Strips Seasoned and Glazed
• Sliced Pizza Pepperoni
• Hot Italian Sausage
• Sure-Slice Salami
• Sure-Slice Roast Beef

For a full list of all products that were recalled please visit;

http://www.mapleleaf.ca/en/pdf/BartorRoadProductRecallList-20080901.pdf

 A short video clip about the recall courtesy of CTV News

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20080820/mlf_recall_080820/

A Variety of Products

Although the company is called Maple Leaf Foods, it has been expanded and has many well-known products that many clients probably did not know were contributed to Maple Leaf Foods. Some of these products are Squirrel peanut butter, Black Diamond cheese, Dempster’s™ bread, Schneiders™, Maple Leaf. The company also has household products such as Olivieri™, Maple Leaf Prime Naturally™, POM™, Ben’s™ and many more.

Interesting Facts

• Dempster’s™ is Canada’s #1 fresh bread brand
• Maple Leaf owns 90% of Canada bread
• Olivieri is Canada’s #1 brand of fresh pasta and sauces

History of Maple Leaf Foods

Maple Leaf Foods was originally called Canada Packers and was founded in 1927 as a union of many Toronto meat packers, it was Canada’s largest food processor and it held its title for sixty years. The company was purchased by Wallace McCain, who was formerly CEO of McCain Foods. In 1980 the company was bought by British Hillsdown Holding, they sold and closed most of the slaughterhouses and combined Canada Packers with Maple Leaf Mills and renamed it Maple Leaf Foods. The headquarters is located in Toronto; Maple Leaf Foods has many operations across Canada also in the United States, United Kingdom, Asia and Mexico. Pork was the main business for this company but the company also processed hogs and exported them to the United Kingdom, this is when Toronto got nickname “Hogtown.” Maple Leaf Foods became Canada’s largest beef slaughterer in the Western part of Canada. Maple Leaf Foods purchased their rival Schneider Foods in 2003.