Business, Government and Society

Odwalla, Inc. , the largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetable-based succuss in the Western move of United States, was riged in 1980 by three citizenry Steltenpohl, his wife and a friend. Initially the business was started by a $200 worth of use succusr in the congestyard of California from which it moved a step out front by transporting the juices to restaurants in the local vicinity. Gradually the business started expanding its distribution and drudgery facilities by increasing its increase channels as well as by acquiring early(a) juice manufacturing companies. Growth of the alliance was m startaryly plump for by bank loans and private stock offerings.The strong marketing and point of intersection line helped in grasping consumer attention which get along enhanced the lodges image. With intensive marketing, pricing, carrefour innovativeness and creativeness of the value driven product line of the ships partnership it succeeded in completed its outperform-ever fiscal year in 1996 when sales reached about $59 million which were about 40 part higher than the last year. Situation The comp each Odwalla Inc. has just celebrated its scoop out fiscal year but is facing a wellness connect issue with its products because of a virulent bacterium called E. coli 0157H7 which causes food poisoning and otherwise such stomach problems.This problem is specially very respectable in infants and older people whose immune systems arent very strong. Although the overall come apart of this bacterium is present in the human intestinal tract and plays a helpful role in synthesizing vitamins and to suppress ravishful bacterium. However some, especially E. coli 0157h7, cause a lot of harm for a person producing a toxin which affects the inner lining of the gut. This type of bacterium lives in the intestine of animals homogeneous cows, sheep, deer and so forth and thus infects the meat of the animal thus variant it un healthy for human consumption.Thi s bacterium however excessively travels finished faecal contamination of the food e. g. if a fruit falls from the maneuver and comes into material contact with the manure of the infected animal the fruit past also carries the germs of this bacteria. This bacterium is also infected when a person doesnt brush his hands by and by using the toilet and touches the food, which has to be later on consumed, by his unclean hands. It was initially believed that the bacterium cannot exist in vitriolic environment and so all the drinks especially those containing citrus savage were defend from this virus as their pH level is 4.3. These acidic drinks admitd apple and other such juices. However recently this concept went under a change when it was found that it can and does exist under a pH of 4. 0. This was known when some of the bacterium was found in acidic drinks which shouldnt make been possible. After extensive research it was concluded that the bacteria essential have unde rgone a mutation process because of which they can now exist even in acidic environment. The company Odwalla is very cautious health and nutrition wise because of which the fruits are selected after elaborate analysis.The company accepted its values, vision and mission because of which a carefully designed plan is enforced to ensure that no unclean product goes into the manufacturing line. The fruits are carefully picked from the tree and no fallen fruit is accepted. Similarly the bin is checked and rechecked to think if any contact with the ground has been made. If there were any dirt or debris found the whole bin is rejected. Even after this careful handpicked selection the fruits are washed with a sanitizing solution of phosphoric acid and then scrubbed with whirling brushes.Later on all the juices are make under strict hygienic conditions which arent to be compromised ever. Even after such careful analysis a few bacteria were found in some drinks which caused a huge fall o f accountability and strain for the company. Issue The company follows a strict code of conduct which ensures that the highest get of product whole tone is delivered to the customers while maintaining the natural taste of the fruits. To deliver the promised quality and taste the company doesnt pasteurizes its juices because of which the bacteria, if were present in the drink, couldnt be finished.After the bacterium were found in the juices the company faced a serious problem quandary as to what their course of action should be because they apparently didnt wanted to lost their customers along with their profits but they did not want to risk the health of their customers as well. Even one health issue case was very big for them as they were socially and ethically a very responsible company. So now the company had to decide what to do. After a serious of meetings it was decided that the products affected by this bacteria would be called back.So in a record breaking speed the pro ducts were pulled back from the shelves until the company can find a counsel to kill the bacteria. This was a major last which costed the company almost $5 million. Despite the financial loss the companys main focus was on determination a way to eliminate this threat so that it wouldnt harm the consumers. For this utilisation investigations were conducted by the company and federal and state health authorities. The company after recalling the apple juice product also recalled back those products in which apple juice was used to further reduce risking consumer health.The company then sought to devise a plan which would reduce the risk as well as increase its sales and would help in the reintroduction of these products in the market. On a short term level the company view it would be best if it only sold those products in which apple juice wasnt an ingredient. For this the products in which apple juice was used were manufactured over again without apple juice in them and were the n sold in the market. plainly this procedure was only best for a short term purpose so as to reduce or minimize the effect of the losses however they couldnt cut out apple juice as it was a major selling product of the company.Because of this the company decided to pick out for singe pasteurisation which is a modified form of pasteurization in which the juice is quickly modify to almost 160 degrees and then maintaining the temperature for a very short span of time so that the bacteria is killed. This reduces the veridical taste somewhat but is still better than the pasteurized juice. This decision was made after careful analysis of the demands and wants of the consumer. Option Every dilemma has more than one option similarly this issue had more than one option which the company could have selected.Regarding this case the company also had a series of actions from which it chose the best. The other options are as follows Discontinuing all apple juice products so that safety of the consumer is fully assured. This averages that apple juice would have to be cancelled not only as a product but as an ingredient from other products as well. This wasnt a very feasible option as more than 80 portion of the revenue was generated because of the apple juice and cancelling it out from the product line would basal to cut or throw away the most profitable nerve of the business. The second option the company had was to improve its manufacturing processes and tighten all the rules and regulations to further ensure that no unsafe or unhygienic product goes through the production cycle and ends up as a juice product. This would mean more inspection and washes of the fruits. The third option is modifying label in a way which ensures that the consumer knows that the juices isnt for infants or for older people. This way the infants and elder people would be safe because they are the most likely to get effect by the bacteria quiclkly. The fourth option the company can r eckon is to use standard pasteurization in which the juice is slowly heated to a certain temperature which is maintained for some time so that the bacteria are killed by the heat. This also increases the product life of the juice i. e. it volition take longer for the product to be expired. But this type of regularity is not feasible as the company is highly focused on maintaining the quality and taste which is almost destroyed by this method. Using other alternatives technologies to remove the pathogens.These methods include a high pressure process which exerts a lot of pressure to cause the walls of the bacteria to explode. Other such methods include using electricity to kill bacteria and herbal antiseptic products etc. Recommendations The company showed a vast amount of ethical and social responsibility towards its customers throughout the dilemma. The company showed the problem in a very professed(prenominal) and morally upright way and according to my perception using flash pasteurization is a very good way to kill the bacteria because by this the actual taste of the product and quality is not lost.My recommendations for the company is that rather than just focusing on flash pasteurization the company should incorporate other options as well to make a unadulterated blend. The company should tighten and improve its production process so that no harmful substance is left. Overall I agree with the decisions of the organization and the way it solved the problem. Conclusion This case study is about a company Odwalla Inc. in which it faced serious problem in its product line despite having a very rigid and vigilant checking of the raw materials. imputable to this bacterium some people fell critically ill and a girl even died.But nobody blamed the company because the company was doing its best to eradicate the bacteria and was helping the effected people in any way they can. The company even called back its products and then carried out a research as to what the customers wanted and finally thorough flash pasteurization they were able to solve out the problem. Overall the company showed immense amount of ethical and corporate standards while dealing with the problem. ? Bibliography nuzzle. M. , 2003 Safe Food Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. Marion Nestle University of California Press