Pink Slime By: Shay Towns

What Happened?

In 2010 stories began popping up all over the internet about “mechanically separated meat”

Nicknamed “Pink Slime”

What is Pink Slime?

Allegedly it is the product of smashing and entire chicken and passing it through a grinder (Eyes, bones, guts, tendons and all)

This paste is then soaked in ammonia to kill bacteria, flavored artificially, and finally dyed to get rid of the pink color

Bad Press

News stations, magazines, blogs, and YouTubers ran with the Pink Slime Chicken story. All urging people to stay away from Mcdonald’s and other fast food chains.

Fighting Back

McDonald’s released they’re own video dispelling the rumors by walking their potential buyers and customers through the chicken nugget making process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua5PaSqKD6k

And Then….

McDonald’s also bought above the fold space for Google searches pertaining to the incident

ROI of Damage Control

2006› Annual revenue 21.6 million› 4.9 million returned to share holders

2010› Annual revenue 24.7 million› 5.1 million returned to share holders

2013› Annual revenue 28 million› 4.9 million returned to share holders

Take Away

Responding head on and honestly to allegations is an affective way to handle a crisis. It reassures business partners, future buyers, and customers of the company’s integrity and commitment to quality.

Work Cited

http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/McDs2013AnnualReport.pdf

https://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/C-%5Cfakepath%5Cinvestors-2006-annual-report.pdf

http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/C-%5Cfakepath%5Cinvestors-2010-annual-report.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67DvoH2H3E