Issue Advisory
February 19, 2008 

To:            State Partner Organizations
Contact:    Rick McCarty, Denver Office, 303/694-0305
                  Mandy Carr, Denver Office, 303/694-0305
                  Jim Henger, Denver Office, 303/694-0305
Subject:     Recall media, retail and information updates

The following provides updates on the Hallmark/Westland recall situation in several key areas: facts about the government’s recall and investigation process related to this case, national retailer feedback and consumer media coverage.  

Government answers key questions
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has posted a series of “Questions and Answers” that address many of the issues raised during today’s state call. This USDA information is primarily regarding the government’s actions, the Westland recall details, BSE control measures and humane handling procedures. The separate Q-and-A documents may be accessed from the USDA link above and are now linked from the Hallmark/Westland Issue section of the Extranet for future reference. We encourage you to direct producer, media and school questions you may be receiving to this USDA resource at: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/02/0048.xml.

National retailer feedback
NCBA reached out to its national retail partners and received the following general comments about the recent recall:

  • Most retailers are getting questions from their customers regarding doing business with Hallmark. All the retailers we have spoken with are assuring their customers that they do not purchase from, or do business with, Hallmark.
     
  • On Monday, an Issues Advisory was sent to the more than 600 subscribers (425 retailers) of the Retail Beef Blast. The e-mail contained NCBA’s media statement and several links to more information. NCBA has not received any additional request for information beyond that which was provided Monday.
     
  • All retailers have told us that their beef sales have not been affected at this point.
     
  • Many retailers already have issued their own talking points to their staff regarding this subject.
     
  • NCBA has not yet received any requests from the retail trade media.
     
  • The retailers NCBA has been in touch with so far are: Kroger, Supervalu, Costco, Raley’s, Meijer, Harris Teeter, Food City, Food 4 Less, Hannaford, Foodlion.

Media coverage summary
Broadcasts about the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. recall have aired nationwide on most of the news networks. Most reports describe the size of the recall, and note that Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. is under USDA investigation for inhumane animal handling practices. Many reports featured footage from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) undercover video, although the clips are getting shorter and less frequent.

Broadcast reports on Sunday evening and Monday morning started out focused on Westland/Hallmark’s inhumane treatment of animals and the logistics of the recall. Mid-day and early evening coverage Monday focused on implications of letting “downer” cattle into the food supply and the human illness associated with BSE. Some of the evening news segments interviewed the HSUS investigator who shot the undercover video, who asked the stations to protect his identity so he could continue working as an undercover investigator. Tuesday’s broadcasts tended to be shorter and less frequent with the number of segments totaling just one-fourth of the volume of coverage seen Monday. Importantly, the national news stations did not air broadcasts about the recall in their Tuesday evening coverage.

Print coverage has been extensive. Most newspapers in large markets reported about the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. recall, with many featuring extensive front-page reports. Although most newspapers relied upon their staff to write articles about the recall, Associated Press (AP) coverage, especially on the various school districts impacted by the recall, was often incorporated into these reports. Beyond the events that led to the recall, most stories compared the Hallmark recall to the 1999 Thorn Apple Valley recall in size, while many also mentioned the Topps recall from last September. Comments from Congressman George Miller, D-Calif., and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, calling for hearings and admonishing USDA’s weak enforcement of food safety regulations also appeared in the coverage.

The print and broadcast reports quoted various spokespersons, including USDA’s Kenneth Petersen, Caroline Smith DeWaal of Center for Science in the Public Interest and Humane Society of the United States President and CEO Wayne Pacelle. Industry spokespersons featured in the reports included NCBA’s Vice President of Research and Knowledge Management James O. Reagan and Vice President of Communication Kim Essex.

Kim Essex primarily was quoted on the “interlocking safeguards” that keep beef safe. In broadcast reports in which DeWaal and Kim appeared separately, Kim was featured in larger markets such as Los Angeles’ KABC, commenting on her confidence in the beef supply and the outrage cattlemen are feeling toward the way those cows were treated in the video. Several AP articles, quote Dr. James “Bo” Reagan in the early paragraphs as saying the footage from Hallmark/Westland is not indicative of how most packing plants operate.

Next steps
The NCBA team is reviewing the questions and concerns raised during today’s state call and is working to develop additional informational tools to address your needs. Continue to refer to the State Extranet “Hallmark/Westland Issue” section for up-to-date information and communication tools and stay tuned to e-mail for more updates as they become available.  

This Issue Advisory is funded by The Beef Checkoff