In 2008, Maple Leaf foods found that their meat was contaminated by listeria bacteria, and instead of covering it up , the CEO went on TV and accepted responsibility for the disaster, apologized to the public and recalled $20 million worth of food products.

The best legal advice is often an apology

In 2008, Maple Leaf Foods of Toronto had a disaster on its hands after an outbreak of the listeria bacteria in some of its packaged meat products.

Lunchmeat manufactured and packaged in Toronto under the Burns and Maple Leaf brands was infected, and there were nine confirmed and 11 suspected deaths attributed to eating the tainted meat. Others who ate the meat but recovered are still putting their lives back together, as are friends and families of all those affected.

But what is a company to do if illness or death is clearly caused by consumers eating or using your products? Do you deny everything and let the lawyers fight it out in court for a decade, hoping that the survivors will run out of gas and money? Do you spin, weave, dod… Continue Reading (5 minute read)