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The Impact of Food Safety Incidents Across Brands: The Case of the Peter Pan Peanut Butter Recall

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Rafael Bakhtavoryan ,
Oral Capps Jr.  and
Victoria Salin
Rafael Bakhtavoryan
Affiliation:
Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics Research Center, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Oral Capps Jr.
Affiliation:
Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics Research Center, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Victoria Salin
Affiliation:
Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics Research Center, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
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Abstract

The effect of negative publicity on consumer demand for brands is examined in the context of recall of a peanut butter brand as a result of pathogen contamination. The recall was associated with negative impacts for the implicated brand and positive effects on the leading competitor brand. Consumers responded to the foodborne illness outbreak within three weeks. The case demonstrates that consumer response is an incentive for companies to prevent safety lapses and that the problems of one brand do not necessarily harm rivals within the category.

Keywords

consumer demandfood safetyproduct recallspillover effectsthe Barten modelD12
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , November 2014 , pp. 559 - 573
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2014

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