Content elements in product recall notices in the UK — guidelines and practice

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According to (2003: 10), organizations are in crisis whenever they are faced with an acute problem that threatens to disrupt the day-to-day business process or, in the worst case scenario, an acute problem that endangers the organization’s continued existence. When a company discovers that it has marketed a defective product, for example, this can be said to constitute a crisis, particularly if the product in question poses a danger or health risk to one of the company’s main target groups, the consumers. In order to contain the crisis and minimize the risk to consumers, a company can put into action a corrective action strategy (or product recall) aimed at withdrawing affected products and informing consumers of the corrective action being undertaken. Product recalls not only allow an organization to resolve the problem at hand, but also to minimize (further) financial damage and damage to its image and reputation (Intertek 2004: 11). Thus, a product recall can be regarded as essentially a form of crisis communication (Groenendijk/ Boulogne 1994).