ConAgra's Sticky Situation: Supply Chain Case Study

A little over a year ago ConAgra Grocery Products Company LLC appeared in federal court to defend their innocence in shipping Peter Pan peanut butter contaminated with salmonella resulting in thousands of sicknesses nationwide and one of the most massive food recalls the United States market has ever seen about 10 years prior.

ConAgra settled in court for a total sum of $11.2 million in fines. Up until the close of 2016, ConAgra spent an additional $275 million in order to solve the issues.

ConAgra’s faulty peanut butter production was a calamity for their public image.

At the hearing, the message was clear. The federal government expects corporations, large and small, to conduct business within their supply chains with a certain level of compliance, governance and standards.

“We rely every day on food processors and handlers to meet the high standards required to keep our food free of harmful contamination,” pleaded Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer.

This supply chain mishap set ConAgra back millions of dollars in re-strategizing and lost sales. With better supplier governance and compliance, this discrepancy could have potentially been avoided. Instead, ConAgra was put in the international media cross hairs due to the actions of a defective supplier.

ConAgra’s loss reinserts the necessity of strong supplier relationship management in visible brands worldwide.

Inspiration for this article HERE