Contemporary organizations are expected to abide by different laws and regulations pertaining to adherence to the highest quality of standards in the products and services offered in the market. Consumers expect only the best from the products or services they purchase for the perceived value to be realized for consuming or availing of these. Organizations that consistently exhibit provision of excellent products and customer services are therefore being gauged, acknowledged and rewarded through accolades that announce their transcendence in their respective fields of endeavor. On the contrary, organizations that manifest problems affect their ability to deliver the products or services expected by consumers. In this regard, the aim of the current discourse is to identify a marketing problem that causes consumers to make unfavorable decisions. To achieve this goal, the problem chosen is a product problem that was evident and proven through the necessity of the governing agency to have the product recalled from the market.
Description of the Product Problem
The organization is Yoder's Country Market, Inc. and the product or brand bears the name Honey Roasted Peanuts . The product was described as custom gift boxes containing 11-ounce bags of honey roasted peanuts . As revealed, the product allegedly failed to disclose pertinent information regarding inclusion of milk and wheat, categorized therefore as undeclared . As explicitly noted, “people who have allergies to milk or wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the honey roasted peanuts” . The product was reported to have been distributed by Dutch Valley Food Distributors, Inc., Myerstown, Pennsylvania . Thus, at the instigation of this distributor, who immediately notified the manufacturer, Yoder’s Country Market about the need to disclose and declare milk and wheat as an important part of the ingredients, immediately initiated the recall which reportedly started in mid-September of 2013 . Likewise, as of the time for the press release for product recall published by the FDA, it was revealed that no illnesses have yet been reported as a result of having purchased and consumed the product.
Key Players Impacting the Problem
As noted, the key players which proved to be instrumental in having identified the problem were: the distributor, Dutch Valley Food Distributors, Inc., the manufacturer that was duly notified, and the FDA, the official agency that is tasked to review and order a recall on the product which posed a risk to the consumers. The best interests of the consumers, as well as the image of the manufacturer and distributor were paramount in the situation. It was therefore commendable on the parts of the key players to have acted immediately after the discovery of potential risks. As such, as reported, no illnesses have not been reported to be associated in any way on the product that was previously distributed in gift boxes.
References
Cal Coast News. (2013). Food Recalls and Safety Alerts. Retrieved from calcoastnews.com: http://calcoastnews.com/food-recalls-and-safety-alerts/
Dutch Valley Distributors, Inc. (2013). Dutch Valley Food Distributors Inc. Retrieved from yelp.com: http://www.yelp.com/biz/dutch-valley-food-distributors-inc-myerstown
Dutch Valley Food Distributors. (2013, September 12). URGENT FOOD RECALL – RETAIL LEVEL – INITIATED 9/12/13. Retrieved from dutchvalleyfoods.com: http://www.dutchvalleyfoods.com/content/files/recalls/honey-roasted-peanut-recall.pdf
U.S. Food and Drugs Administration. (2013, October). Recall -- Firm Press Release: Yoder's Country Market, Inc. Issues Allergy Alert on Gift Boxes Containing 11 oz. Bags of Honey Roasted Peanuts Distributed in December 2012. Retrieved from fda.gov: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm371002.htm
Yoder's Country Market. (2013). Yoder's Country Market. Retrieved from yoderscountrymarket.com: http://www.yoderscountrymarket.com/
