Risk and Crisis Management

This article discusses the case against KFC for Salmonella poisoning and explores the elements of risk and crisis management. It examines the types of risks involved, how the company handled the risk, and suggests improvements for future crisis response plans.

Running head: RISK AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT 1
Risk and Crisis Management
Student’s Name
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Risk and Crisis Management

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In April 2012, an Australian supreme court ruled that KFC was guilty of supplying a Twister
wrap that resulted in Salmonella poisoning. The case involved a young girl, Monika Samaan, who
suffered brain damage and is currently on a wheel chair after suffering from Salmonella Encephalopathy.
The court granted damages worth AUS $8 million to the plaintiff. Here is a look at some basic elements
of risk and crisis management with respect to the case against Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Risk Type and Level of Risk to the Business
The risk type in this case was contamination and poisoning of ingredients and end products. Food
poisoning occurs when a person consumes contaminated food. Podolak et.al, observed that cross
contamination takes place when food is stored, handled, or prepared incorrectly (2010). It arises when
some specific types of bacteria and their toxins come in contact with the food you consume. These types
of bacteria, also called pathogens include Salmonella, E.coli, and Campylobacter.
The level of risk to the business can be assessed by determining how food poisoning occurs, high
risk foods, high risk groups, and the factors that contribute to bacterial growth. Some of the foods with a
high risk of cross contamination are meat, dairy products, prepared salads, sea food, and ready to eat
foods. Those who stand a high chance of suffering from food poisoning are young children, expectant
women, and the elderly. The factors that contribute to bacterial growth include pH, water, temperature,
time, and nutrients. In this case, Salmonella was highly facilitated by nutrients. High risk foods like dairy,
egg products, sea food, meat, and poultry contain enough nutrients to support the growth of bacteria.
How the Company Handled the Risk
To begin with the risk in this case was cross contamination. Cross contamination refers to the
way pathogens that result in food poisoning can spread if you have not separated raw poultry or meat

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from other groceries (Carrasco, et.al, 2012). It also occurs when food is stored incorrectly or when ready
made food is mixed with raw foods.
In this particular case, it was likely that there was cross contamination of the chicken pieces after
cooking when the chicken was mixed up with flour or some form of dipping material used to prepare the
raw chicken. KFC handled the risk by its food safety system which includes:
 Employee health
 Employee hygiene
 Product and ingredient temperature management
 Product handling
 Preventing cross contamination
Where the company could have handled the situation better
There are several ways KFC could have handled the situation better. These include:
 Having a clear-cut system of separating cooked foods from contaminants
 Having regular inspections focused on identifying the risk of cross contamination
 Having a backup emergency protocol in case a client suffered from cross contamination or any
form of food poisoning
How the company could have adjusted their crisis response plan
A crisis can hit an organization at any time and this is why it is important for any viable business
to have a crisis response plan (Sapriel 2003). If KFC’s crisis response plan had anticipated the incidence

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of a twister wrap poisoning, they would not have parted with millions worth of damages. Here is the ideal
action plan for future similar risks.
Identifying Crisis Scenarios
The management at KFC should design a series of crisis scenarios to help it have an effective
crisis management plan. According to Jaques, this should be a list of every conceivable thing that could
cause food poisoning (2007). For example, some of the scenarios that could lead to a crisis include
improperly stored food, incompetence in the kitchen, confusion when employees change shifts and mix
up cooked and raw foods or make a similar mistake. After identifying all the possible scenarios of food
poisoning, KFC can proceed to design a plan of action.
A Response Team
Watkins argues that a decentralized organization is terrible at handling a crisis (2002). KFC
should set aside a team of qualified members whose responsibilities range from overseeing the storage of
food to supervising the preparation and serving of dishes that have a high risk of food contamination
(King 2002). Some key personnel should be charged with overseeing food storage while others should be
charged with preparing and serving of foods.
Training the Response Team
After the plan has been designed and a team designated to respond to the crisis, training should be
offered to members of the response team. The team should receive comprehensive training on the crisis
management plan and should be familiarized with all the aspects of the plan in order to identify gaps in
the operational and communication processes. These gaps will aggravate the crisis if they are not dealt
with.

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Updating the Crisis Management Plan
The world is rapidly changing and the features of a crisis management plan could easily become
outdated. Team members, communication processes, and the risks to the business could change. KFC
should have a mechanism of regularly reviewing and updating their crisis management plan to include
current risks.
What did the crisis cost the brand?
According to Seo, the negative spill over of a food crisis in the restaurant industry is not
something to be taken lightly. Taking the example of “Jack in the box” and the E. coli scare, there are
many lessons that KFC should learn from the food poisoning crisis (2014). The impact of the two food
poisoning incidences in Japan only come to show how much a cross contamination case can ruin a
renowned brand (Wrigley 2006).
The food poisoning case against KFC cost the company $8 million in damages plus legal cost.
This does not include the public’s loss of confidence in its products and services. It is highly likely that
the company’s shares dropped down drastically since investors did not want to be associated with a brand
embroiled in a court case.
References

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Carrasco, E., Morales-Rueda, A., & García-Gimeno, R. M. (2012). Cross-contamination and
recontamination by Salmonella in foods: a review. Food Research International, 45(2), 545-556.
Jaques, T. (2007). Issue management and crisis management: An integrated, non-linear, relational
construct. Public Relations Review, 33(2), 147-157.
King, G. (2002). Crisis management & team effectiveness: A closer examination. Journal of Business
Ethics, 41(3), 235-249.
Podolak, R., Enache, E., Stone, W., Black, D. G., & Elliott, P. H. (2010). Sources and risk factors for
contamination, survival, persistence, and heat resistance of Salmonella in low-moisture foods. Journal of
food protection, 73(10), 1919-1936.
Sapriel, C. (2003). Effective crisis management: Tools and best practice for the new millennium. Journal
of communication management, 7(4), 348-355.
Seo, S., Jang, S. S., Almanza, B., Miao, L., & Behnke, C. (2014). The negative spillover effect of food
crises on restaurant firms: Did Jack in the Box really recover from an E. coli scare? International Journal
of Hospitality Management, 39, 107-121.
Watkins, M. (2002). Your crisis response plan: The ten effective elements. Harvard Business School
Working Knowledge, 30.
Wrigley, B. J., Ota, S., & Kikuchi, A. (2006). Lightning strikes twice: Lessons learned from two food
poisoning incidents in Japan. Public Relations Review, 32(4), 349-357.