EOC Week 3: Apple Juice Scandal

Beech Nut Corporation trashed their brand with this scandal because they falsely advertised a product and it was a product for babies, which makes it even worse. The brand can not say they didn’t know what was in their product because a worker, LiCari, brought it to their attention numerous times. “The company itself had pleaded guilty the previous fall to 215 counts of violating Federal food and drug laws, and had agreed to pay a $2 million fine, by far the largest ever imposed in the 50-year history of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.“ (http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/magazine/into-the-mouths-of-babes.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm)  They completely lied about what their product and what they were selling. “Nestle has defended its subsidiary's acts as vigorously as it defended its own in the past. The company has spent what sources close to the case estimate as several million dollars in defending the two executives, and has agreed to keep both men on the payroll - at annual salaries of $120,000 and $70,000 - until their current appeals are exhausted.” (http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/magazine/into-the-mouths-of-babes.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm)  I think its crazy that a huge corporation like Nestle was helping them when they went to court. They defended both the executives during the trial and also kept paying them, which is absurd. Nestle should have cut them off in order to save their reputation. It was a horrible thing to do as a company. It is completely unethical and they were lying to their loyal customers. Also their product could have harmful effects on the consumers, which sadly are babies.